7th march 2007

wow. clonefish.

currently doing a site with *a lot* of forms on it, and as i'm using php i had a look around for something that could help me out a bit. came across a product called clonefish and i have to tell you, i'm very, very impressed.

put basically, this is a php form class that takes all the tedium out of producing, often very repetitive, html forms. as well as obviously being able to produce the necessary form elements, it easily adds any optional html to your tags (class attributes, title attributes, whatever), can add code before or after each element (e.g. "required", "password must be 6 characters long", etc) and - best of all - adds validation right there and then. you can use ready made validation techniques ('required' tells the class that user input on that element is... well, required), or your own custom validation in - get this - *either* javascript or php! does it get any better? well, maybe - it can also hook up to your mysql database - using native php/mysql connectors, pear db or, my current favourite, adodb - to do things like outputting a select options depending on records from your db, or db validation ("select password where user ..."). you can style everything in the normal way, and it's down to you - not the class - whether you output valid xhtml.

more than that, the clonefish support has been fantastic. i've had a couple of queries/requests and they've done everything to help me out, even sending over new, updated files to suit my needs. better than "look, that'll be available in the next release, ok!?!".

if you're messing about with php and loads of forms, i really recommend you take a look.

related:

css,

javascript,

php,

sites,

web dev

permalink:

http://www.oneplayer.co.uk/07/03/07/wow-c...

5th january 2007

aja. (another) future of web apps?

look, you know i haven't posted for ages, i know i haven't posted for ages. but i think we're all big enough to forget that, and move on. yeah? good.

so, interesting article on phpit, regarding using ajax without the x. yup, using ajax without the - can be - troublesome xmlhttprequest. not had the opportunity to really try this out yet, but looks good.

take a look at the article yourself.

related:

ajax,

javascript,

php,

web dev

permalink:

http://www.oneplayer.co.uk/07/01/05/aja-a...

17th october 2006

yes, it is wireless and yes, it is sexy

you may remember a post i made a while ago regarding logitech's wireless dj music system. luckily, if you can't remember, i've been so rubbish at posting lately that it's only three posts below. anyways, mine arrived at the weekend, and i'm very, very impressed.

the remote and dock - which also acts as a charger - look great, and the bright, blue, back-lit screen is beautiful. it feels great too, heavy enough so it doesn't feel cheap, light enough so you don't think 'what is in this thing!?'.

the software installed with no problems, and looks to be pretty good. we all know that some electronics companies do software well, and some - perhaps most - don't, but i have no problems with what i've seen so far. the streampoint app indexed all my music easily, and you choose how that music should be played, thankfully allowing you to use your usual player - itunes for me - rather than forcing you to use windows media player because you're using a windows machine, or even worse a manufacturer's own player (i still have nightmares about having to use sony's awful sonic stage when i first bought a sony mp3 player back in the day). the transmitter again looks good. small and classy looking, and doesn't seem out of place on my desk. and no problems so far with it's range (my pc - and music - is upstairs, my entertainment system downstairs).

the best thing though? for me, the sound quality. i was really quite aprehensive about this. i tried a couple of times playing my ipod through my home entertainment amp, and it sounded like a cheap transister radio. i figured this may need to have an digital connection, rather than using stereo jacks, but i was wrong - the sound is excellent. granted, my jacks lead cost me about £60 (used to use it with my last dvd player), but still.

so my one problem - there had to be one - is with the scroll wheel. i know i'm used to the ipod's wheel, so i immediately didn't like that fact that this wheel actually does turn (not a touch sensitive thing), but it just feels a little... plasticy. this surprised me, considering the quality of the rest of the system. but that, i can live with. what is irritating is the speed of the thing. i have somewhere in the region of 600 albums, and if i want to quickly listen to a favourite track from an artist starting with, for example, "S", you soon realise that "quickly" just ain't gonna happen. that's what i did yesterday, and although i didn't time myself, i reckon it must have taken a couple of minutes to get to "s". that is gonna be a problem. despite the fact that i don't like zz-top. hopefully they can release an update to the software. perhaps an "artist by letter" and "album by letter", so the maximum number you have to initially scroll through is 26?

all in all though, if you're looking for a wirless, streaming solution, this is it. it simplys looks great and it just... well, works.

related:

blog,

gadgets

permalink:

http://www.oneplayer.co.uk/06/10/17/yes-i...

14th september 2006

bow down, for i am... the master

it's about time i got some credit for... well, anything really. lady and gentleman, i have just been awarded the title of "master" for my javascript knowledge on the ever excellent, and must have bookmark, experts exchange. not bad i reckon after only 12 weeks. if i keep this up, i'll be a "guru" in another 24 weeks.

related:

blog,

javascript,

sites,

web dev

permalink:

http://www.oneplayer.co.uk/06/09/14/bow-d...

6th september 2006

whatever

"the launch of sony's long-awaited playStation 3 games console in europe has been delayed until march 2007".

sony do it again. brilliant.

related:

gadgets,

rant

permalink:

http://www.oneplayer.co.uk/06/09/06/whate...

10th august 2006

wireless and sexy

sorry i haven't posted for an absolute age. i finally made the jump from permanent employee to contractor three or four weeks ago, and i'm only now just getting settled in. hope the pain of my absence hasn't been too much.

anyways, i really like the look of logitech's new wireless dj music system. it's what you would expect from a wireless music system - it allows you to play your music files, located on your pc/mac, through your stereo system, er... wirelessly. however, instead of having another box sitting on top of your home entertainment seperates, controlling it through the remote, this thing *is* the remote. everything is done through the remote control, using it's lcd screen and a clickable scroll wheel - yes, like those ipod things. the thing just looks... sexy.

i've wanted one of these type of things for ages, and came very close to buying a soundbridge last month, and then a squeezebox a couple of weeks ago, but i think i'm now going to go for one of these babies. i bought a logitech harmony 525 remote control last week, and i can't say how impressed i am with it, so i'm going to give this dj music system a go as soon as it hits the streets. my only disappointment is that it doesn't have an optical or coaxial connection to your amp/receiver, instead using standard rca input jacks, but surely that must have been considered during the design and testing process, and the sound quality should still be the shit.

no news on when it's released yet, but i'll let y'all know as soon as i have mine, and i've used - and heard - the thing.

related:

blog,

gadgets

permalink:

http://www.oneplayer.co.uk/06/08/10/wirel...

24th july 2006

blimey, javascript powered css hacks

rafael lima has created a js library that allows for browser specific css classes. it means that you can prefix your style classes with a browser code (it covers ie, ie5, ie6, gecko, opera, konqueror and safari), and that specific css will only be picked up by that specified browser. i guess this is still a hack, and it obviously won't work if javascript is disabled, but it's still a cool idea.

why not take a look for yourself?

related:

css,

javascript,

web dev

permalink:

http://www.oneplayer.co.uk/06/07/24/blime...

12th july 2006

yes, those mac ads

if you don't know what i'm talking about when i speak of the new 'i'm a mac, i'm a pc' ads from apple, you may have to google it first as there isn't a chance that i'm going to link to them here. i know you - the mac users anyway - are probably thinking 'typical pc user, he knows macs are better, and the ads prove it, so he's gonna ignore them', but that's not actually my issue with the ads. the reason i hate them, and i do, is this...

when i was 15 and doing gcse (that's an exam for my non-british reader) art and design, if we had this whole mac vs pc thang going on, and my teacher gave me a advertisement project to do called 'i'm a mac, i'm a pc' from apple's side, i would have created these ads. i would have a young, cool, hip, good looking, recognisable actor (ideally from some kind of recent hip hollywood comedy film that the 'kids' loved) play the mac, and then - and this is good - i'd get some middle aged, grey, geeky, boring, accountant (no disrespect to accountants) type bloke to act as the pc. i'd then write a script that was increadibly see-through. i'd make it look as though pcs can't play music, create videos, build websites, etc and that macs were soooooo cool that you couldn't create a spreadsheet on it even if you wanted to! and i'd definitly ignore the countless numbers of performance tests that have been carried out for years that invariably see the pc win, or that i can buy a pc for me, one for t'wife, and a spare one to run as a web server, for the cost of one small-i-big-m-ac. and after all that, i'd probably get a 'c', maybe a 'c+', with some comment from my teacher about 'trying harder', 'more thought', 'be original', 'less predictable', etc.

so the point of this post? (you mean i have to have a point to post something on my own site? damn) it's the fact that i do like the vh1 spoof ads.

related:

blog,

laugh

permalink:

http://www.oneplayer.co.uk/06/07/12/yes-t...

6th july 2006

will the real sony please stand up?

look, i'm known in my circle as being a sony addict. anyone walking into my flat would immediately see why (although two lg products have invaded over the last few weeks, as i got my hd plasma - coz the reviews of the bravia were poor - and my hd upscaler dvd player - coz sony don't do them as they're concentrating on blu-ray). i love the brand. i always have.

however, it seems that once a week now - for at least the last 18 months - the sony foot is placed in the sony mouth. it's as though the people who used to make the decisions have been replaced with a group determined to make sony no longer a brand, but a pr #### up. this ad campaign is the latest embarrassment.

if anyone finds the real sony, can they please return it as soon as possible? thanks.

related:

blog,

gadgets

permalink:

http://www.oneplayer.co.uk/06/07/06/will-...

5th july 2006

ajaxessibility

as well all know, the theory says that ajax and accessibility go together like a horse and minefield, but thanks to max kiesler you can shove that theory where the sun don't shine. perhaps anyway.

maxkiesler.com has an article titled "how to make your ajax applications accessible - 40 tutorials and articles", and you'd be right if you're thinking that it might be links to 40 tutorials and articles that'll make your ajax applications accessible.

i would write more about it but i'm off to copyright the title of this post.

related:

accessibility,

ajax,

web dev

permalink:

http://www.oneplayer.co.uk/06/07/05/ajaxe...

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