• Slap in the Facebook: It’s Time for Social Networks to Open Up
  Wired magazine puts out an open call to the web programming community to build a social networking service based on open standards like XFN.
  (tags: socialnetworks standards xml)
• XRAY :: for web developers
  Westciv has released a free bookmarklet called XRAY that allows you to inspect the style properties of elements of a web page in Safari and Firefox. While XRAY is very slick, most developers will find Firebug is a better day-to-day tool.
  (tags: software css)
• Gang of Four Design Patterns - Does it stand the test of time?
  A tight summary of recent discussion surrounding the classic “Gang of Four” design patterns book, and its relevance today.
  (tags: programming)
• YUI 2.3.0: Six New Components and a Prettier Face
  Yahoo!’s recent update to the YUI library contains some pretty massive improvements: a beta rich text editor component, a beta color selection widget, dynamic dependency loading, a beta unit testing framework, and a formal skinning system!
  (tags: javascript software)
• MWI Team Blog - Progress for XHTML Basic 1.1
  The W3C delivers XHTML Basic 1.1 as a Candidate Recommendation, closing the divide between the two previous specifications for mobile web markup. But with mobile devices increasingly able to cope with full HTML, does this specification arrive too late?
  (tags: mobile html standards)
• What happened to object databases?
  An interesting thread on Javalobby about object databases (as opposed to relational databases), and why they haven’t seen the success that many have predicted.
  (tags: databases)
• blueprintcss
  “Blueprint is a CSS framework, which aims to cut down on your CSS development time. It gives you a solid CSS foundation to build you project on top of, with an easy-to-use grid, sensible typography, and even a stylesheet for printing.”
  (tags: css software opensource)
• Syncotype Your Baselines
  A short-and-sweet tool to assist in aligning page elements to a regular baseline grid. When invoked, this bookmarklet will overlay any page with a regular horizontal grid so that you can check your element alignment. Works in all major browsers. (thanks gnarly!)
  (tags: css software design)
• design|snips
  This site collects snippets of good design from all over the web. Need some inspiration for a particular aspect of your design? Just browse the relevant category. (thanks spiky_simon!)
  (tags: design)
• The Wii Remote API: Now your userbase is four.
  Opera has published an API for the Nintendo Wii version of its browser that allows JavaScript developers to monitor and respond to the four controllers supported by the console simultaneously.
  (tags: opera javascript)
• Moonfall: CSS with variables
  A neat little program written in Lua that will dynamically generate CSS property values to ease some of the maintenance associated with static CSS layouts.
  (tags: css software)
• Fixing The Web - Part 1
  A fascinating collection of problems that web technology currently faces, followed by brief interviews with some of the leading minds currently working to tackle them.
  (tags: html accessibility ajax security standards mobile)
• The Positive Side of Negative Margins
  A clear and concise run-down of how negative margins work in CSS.
  (tags: css)

Got a link you’d like to recommend for the SitePoint News Wire? Great! Save the link on del.icio.us, and tag it for:sitepointlinks. Please include a description—it will increase the chances that we’ll select your link for the News Wire!

This article provided by sitepoint.com.

Share This

Panasonic has just dropped the Real Pro Ultra massage chair that is guaranteed to get you drooling the moment you lay your eyes on it. It is meant to soothe the day’s stress away, providing a full massage session all the way from your neck down to your legs. There is a variety of massaging styles to choose from, so it really depends on which style suits you best. Unfortunately, the $4,799 price tag makes it out of reach for most people. How has your experience been with a massage chair to date? I heard from certain sales persons that the motors inside these chairs ought to be given regular maintenance lest they start to make noise after months of regular use.

Share This

I’ve tried to veer away from posting things that come in series’ like cartoons, because…well, the average bear doesn’t show up to a website that he/she checks regularly to be handed a brand new website to be checked regularly, right?

Luckily, this series is finished. And it is wonderful.

The owner of this website made a goal for himself: complete 200 comics (of questionable quality) in as little time as possible. I think this took him a few days. It actually is a great project, for you aspiring artists out there: stewing over making one thing perfect will make you less talented than the person who makes a lot of things badly in an attempt to get better. and actually, a lot of these things rock my world:

Check that out. Put it in your brain. Learn a lesson.

Share This

Filed under: Car Tech, Advice, Editor’s Picks, Switched Video

If you ever rent vehicles while traveling, you know that you can tack on an additional $10 a day or so for an optional GPS unit that gives you turn-by-turn directions. Most rental car companies are beginning to feature this option, but the Big Two — Hertz and Avis — offer it in almost all of their locations. Not surprisingly, the GPS offerings by Hertz and Avis are different. Which is better? To find out, we test drove the GPS navigators of Hertz and Avis. Check out our findings in the above video.

Related Links:

• Breathalyzers Come Under Fire in Court
• New Parking Meter Issues Immediate Tickets
• Texting and Driving Equated to Drunk Driving
• DeLorean 80s Gull-Winged Car Coming Back

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Previews

Perhaps some of you have played previous iterations of Eidos’ Conflict franchise. If you have, then the announcement of a new title should have you giddy as a schoolgirl. If not, then you should at least show some interest — we’re going to tell you about Conflict: Denied Ops anyway. As the fifth entry into the series, developer Pivotal Games wanted to shock the series with more political and paramilitary intrigue than you can shake a stick at.

The premise to Denied Ops is this: sometimes the US Government can’t afford to publicly associate themselves with an operation — thus a special force is dispatched (you). Gameplay plans to focus on two-man tactics, so expect an extensive co-op mode to really make the game worthwhile (online co-op would be excellent, too). In addition to this, there are going to be highly destructible environments to create a new depth to undertaking any one objective — it’s being toted as “Hollywood Action”. Sounds good. We’ll keep you up to date, since the game isn’t shipping until Spring of ‘08.

[via N4G]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Videos and Screenshots

Nothing quite like a violent FPS gameplay trailer to wake you up on a Monday, huh? This latest video for Clive Barker’s Jericho contains what we assume to be the opening cutscenes to the game, followed by a brief look at the actual gameplay. While at the moment it looks like any other FPS, we know there’s a lot more to each character than weaponry: spells, secret abilities, etc. It’s sort of hinted at when the one person starts waving blue hands at you, probably to heal you. If nothing else, fighting nasty-looking creatures who emerge from the sand is going to be a different experience for a lot of FPS fans.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Industry, Internet, Google (GOOG), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Verizon Communications (VZ)

Two stories in the news point to the growing stress the communication age is putting on our infrastructure.

According to ABI Research, cable providers could be approaching a crisis in capacity in their last-mile systems. As video on demand, online gaming and high definition television eat up more and more capacity, customers may find themselves on the slow end of a battle with their neighbors for packet priority. An analogy might be the line that would form at the only well in a neighborhood where everyone is putting in pools.

Others question whether the tubes of the internet’s backbone are large enough to serve the dramatically increasing call on them. Total capacity usage is roughly doubling every two years. Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) estimates it will reach almost 8 million terabytes per month by 2011.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription) quotes an analyst at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu as speculating the internet could be approaching its capacity, although this is not a widely accepted view. Some are concerned the providers of that architecture may not have sufficient monetary incentive to make the investments necessary to keep the electrons flowing unimpeded. Of course, they suggest that everyone enjoying the use of the system should kick back a little monetary love for the access.

We also are witnessing wrestling matches over the increasingly-crowded prime frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum. As companies such as Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) vie for the soon-to-be-abandoned television frequencies so they can jump into wireless internet access, cellular providers like Verizon (NYSE: VZ) lust after them to reduce the cost of network maintenance and expand their package of products.

We’ll keep you up to date on these issues; while arcane, they could have huge implications on the business models of today’s top technology stocks.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Action & Adventure, Drama, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Movie Marketing

And no, I’m not kidding. If you read Cinematical enough (and you should!), you’re probably already aware of Joe Carnahan’s plans to make a direct-to-video Smokin’ Aces prequel. While he won’t be directing, Carnahan is involved in some capacity, and has been talking up the project quite a bit on his own blog. I was fairly entertained by the original — I think it succeeded in what it set out to do (with fantastic performances from Jason Bateman and Jeremy Piven), but I absolutely despised the ending. I won’t ruin it for those folks who haven’t seen it yet, but let’s just say it felt like I was coming down from a high … real hard. Anyway, Carnahan (and his crew) have come up with an interesting way to start promoting the new DTV prequel. That’s right, he’s asking YOU to name it.

Yup, you can head over to Carnahan’s blog right now and participate in the little contest. First up, the director offers up a small plot description that reads: “‘A low level government analyst, with forty plus years working an FBI information post, is slated to be assassinated, for reasons unknown at an exact date and time within the next three days. A federal ‘Grab Team’ or close protection detail has been tasked with saving this man’s life…’ …chaos ensues.’ The action takes place in D.C. and in New Orleans. Some familiar faces return. Some very surprising. I won’t say any more.” Carnahan then goes on to stress that, if your title is chosen, you will not be compensated with money. Instead, you’ll probably get a whole bunch of movie swag and a free DVD. Oh, and tons and tons of bragging rights. So if you think you can come up with something better than Smokin’ Aces 2: The Sh*t Hits the Fan — by all means, take a stab at it. The contest began yesterday, and Carnahan will run it for exactly two weeks. Good luck!

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Cellphones

Joining the growing list of celebrities who can’t quit using their cellphones to beat up on others is Foxy Brown, who was recently “charged with assault and possession of a weapon” after allegedly hitting a neighbor with her BlackBerry. Of course, this isn’t the first time Foxy’s temper has flared up, but when she was confronted over the volume of her stereo system, the handset came out (a few days later, mind you) for purposes other than texting, talking, or capturing the impending battle for future viewing. So, you may be wondering how much damage a flung BlackBerry can do, and if that’s the case, here’s your answer: the victim was left with a cut lip and a loose tooth.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Share This