phoboslab.org

What's wrong with Clean-URLs?

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:27:00 +0200

Clean URLs are everywhere. No Web 2.0 site is complete without them and many of the Internet heavyweights retrofitted their sites in an attempt to please search engines. Many of them completely miss the point.

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Asaph 1.0

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:59:02 +0200

After two Beta versions of Asaph, here is what I call Asaph 1.0. This is the first proper release, even featuring a readme file and licensing information (GPL v3).

If you're new to Asaph, watch the screencast (QuickTime, 5mb) to see what's it all about.

Many issues with the RSS-Feed and bugs when editing posts from the admin menu were fixed in this release. I also included another template theme called Stickney which can be activated in the config file.

Download: Asaph version 1.0 - ZIP ~50kb

If you're updating from a beta version, simply replace all your files (keep the data/ directory!) and edit your settings in lib/asaph_config.class.php. The database layout didn't change, so there's no need to invoke the installer.

Read the Asaph project page to learn more.

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Asaph Beta 2

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:47:42 +0100

Based on the wonderful feedback I got on my last post, I just put together a new beta version of Asaph. It fixes the most common problems people had with the last one. This includes:

Usage of cURL or url fopen wrappers, based on what's available
magic_quotes are now reverted automatically
The RSS Feed should now display images properly
Lots of smaller bugfixes

Again, to install just unpack the zip, enter your database settings in lib/asaph_config.class.php, upload it to your webserver and point your browser to admin/install.php.

If you already installed the previous version, just replace all the files and skip the install step, as the database layout didn't change.

Asaph version 1.0 - ZIP ~50kb - Updated: Asaph version 1.0

I have some more plans and ideas for future versions of Asaph. Don't hold your breath though - this will take some time :)

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Asaph Microblog - Beta

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:40:58 +0100

Over the past few weeks I developed Asaph - a small blogging system, that allows you to instantly post links and images directly from any page on the web. This makes Asaph the most fun to use application if you want to collect and show all the cool things you found elsewhere. Asaph is not a full blown blog and it does not aim to be one - it just does this one task, but it's pretty good at it.

Watch a screencast to learn what makes Asaph worth using:
About Asaph - Quicktime Movie ~5mb

My own Asaph blog can be found at asaph.phoboslab.org.

Asaph is currently in Beta stage. It needs PHP5 and MySQL4 to run. To install, just unpack the zip, enter your database settings in lib/asaph_config.class.php, upload it to your webserver and point your browser to admin/install.php.

Asaph version 1.0 - ZIP ~50kb - Updated: Asaph version 1.0

Feedback is much appreciated!

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How not to build a page with Drupal

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:52:00 +0100

A few weeks ago I was asked to build an Intranet-Site for a small company. Nothing too fancy - just the usual groupware stuff like News, Calendars a Blackboard etc. I was given some Photoshop Files which were easily translated to XHTML. The layout was already approved by the client so this step was pretty much a no-brainer.

I always wanted to try out the Drupal CMS and figured this Intranet-Site would be a perfect fit for it. Drupal was developed with community sites in mind; every aspect of it was designed support the extensive built in User and Rights management. Just what I needed.

My XHTML file was quickly adjusted to function as a Drupal template. Not everything was working right from the beginning, but I figured I'd first work out the hard stuff and care about these "small rendering bugs" later. So I carried on to build my content - which is where my odyssey started.

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All hail the new PhobosLab

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:21:03 +0100

Doing logo design isn't easy. Making a logo for PhobosLab felt particularly hard, because the name, despite of the very real Mars moon Phobos, is quite abstract for a weblog. Well, I settled for the real thing and actually used Phobos as a logo, as you can now see in the page header. No, it's not the Deathstar - Phobos has a huge crater on its side, in case you're wondering.

I also pimped the stylesheet a bit, but in the end didn't do the complete redesign I intended to. The image on the right was a first draft of it.

Update: Yeah well, as you can see, I did do the complete redesign now.

Ron Paul vs. Barack Obama?

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 19:39:55 +0100

1990s (complete with frames) vs. shiny Web 2.0?

Edit: Turns out Ron Paul also has a new Web 2.0 site for his 2008 campaign.

Flash music visualization Engine

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:11:41 +0100

Better late than never... As I promised earlier, I uploaded the complete Flash and ActionScript source for Venetianization. It is, potentially, a framework for simple yet very powerful and accurate music visualization movies. Effects can be programmed for a set of elements and issued at nearly exact points in time. The complete source (Flash CS3, ActionScript 3) can be downloaded here: venetianization.zip

A few word about the inner workings of this: As you saw in my demo project, you work on an 2D array of circles. You basically animate these circles through 3 layers of definitions:

Selections - which of the circles to animate
Actions - what to do with them
Sequence - when to issue them

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