Tadd Mencer

Posts Tagged ‘Plug Ins’

Ok, back in December I posted about how I started using a program called Pidgin [Re: Goodbye Trillian]. I’ve not looked back since, and only missed a few little things about Trillian (such as the amount of emoticons it supported).

However, Pidgin is quickly erasing any doubt that it is the best instant messaging client ever.

For instance: I got a add on for Pidgin that allows me to post Twitter updates. (Yes, I have Twitter – www.twitter.com/taddmencer). This is gold for someone trying to stake a claim in the Twitter-world. Or nest. Or whatever people would call it.

There are other additions to Pidgin such as the ability to use your xfire account to chat with online gamer friends. You obviously can’t see detailed information such as what game server they’re playing – but you can send a message to them.

There is also a plug for Facebook that I’ve not used (it uses a web proxy so if your office blocks Facebook you can’t use it).

The plain fact is – there is a lot you can do to make Pidgin work for you. I also have two AIM accounts running – one for business and one for personal so anyone can get a hold of me when necessary.

http://developer.pidgin.im/wiki/ThirdPartyPlugins

Check out the available plug ins.

And then go download Pidgin – http://pidgin.im/download/

I’ve used Adobe Dreamweaver for years in my development. Creating designs that I can edit and change without a second glance. I’m always on the lookout for a cheap (or free) alternative since Dreamweaver costs too much to keep upgraded.

Happily, I ran into this pleasant application.

http://www.aptana.com/

Aptana Studio is, without wasting breath, amazing. Has all the features you need for most applications and more!

From the developers:

Aptana Studio is the premier IDE for Today’s Web offering integrated language support for HTML, DOM, JavaScript and CSS, embedded development platforms and databases for PHP, Jaxer, Ruby on Rails, and Python. Plus support for emerging platforms that use Ajax like Adobe AIR and Apple iPhone. Aptana Studio is free, open source software based on the Eclipse tools platform.

There is just so much you can do in the program, it’s amazing!

Ajax, HTML, DOM, CSS

Studio’s support for Ajax is state-of-the-art providing savvy JavaScript code completion and debugging, HTML/CSS/JavaScript code assist, and support for all the leading Ajax libraries. Aptana Studio even provides code assist for any JavaScript in your page — including your own!

PHP, Jaxer, Ruby on Rails, Python

Pick your platform. Studio provides built-in servers, code assist, page previews, debugging and more for PHP, Jaxer, Ruby on Rails, and Python.

Cloud Integration

Integration with the Cloud connects you to managed development, testing and staging services, plus scalable production environments for Jaxer, PHP, and soon Ruby on Rails and Python.

Streamlined Development Process

Aptana Studio simplifies the development process. The database perspective, variety of source control plug-ins, an integrated FTP client (SFTP and FTPS available in Studio Pro), and single-click browser previews for Firefox, IE and Safari all make life much easier.

Based on Eclipse

Aptana Studio is based on Eclipse. That means you can plug it into Eclipse itself, or other Eclipse-based IDEs. You can also run a standalone edition of Aptana Studio which bundles in Eclipse 3.2, so that you can then extend Studio with other Aptana plug-ins or other plug-ins for Eclipse.

If you’re a web developer looking for an easy tool, go check this program out. There is a version for Windows, Mac and Linux so everyone can be happy.

http://www.aptana.com/

People have emailed me and asked (ok, so one person did) what plugins I use on my site. I came across this particular plug that tells you exactly what I use so you can check them out yourself, and it saves me time!

I’ll make a page for this also, so it stays updates for you all!

Viva la WordPress!

Active Plugins
[active_pluginsused]

I love FireFox. One of the great things about it (which now most browsers do) is the ability to expand what the browser does through addons and plug-ins. All freely available from the Firefox Add-on homepage.

So I though "I bet some people would like to know what I think are good FireFox plug-ins … because I have such an avid following" so here they are. Since I’m a web and graphic developer, most of these pertain to my craft.

Broadband Speed Test and Diagnostics
This extension includes a set of tools for broadband users. It can measure the bandwidth of Internet connections and perform diagnostic tests.

ColorZilla
Advanced eyedropper, colorpicker, page zoomer and other colorful goodies.
With ColorZilla you can get a color reading from any point in your browser, quickly adjust this color and paste it into another program. You can Zoom the page you are viewing and measure distances between any two points on the page. The built-in palette browser allows choosing colors from pre-defined color sets and saving the most used colors in custom palettes. DOM spying features allow getting various information about DOM elements quickly and easily.

CoLT
CoLT makes it easy to copy either a hyperlink’s text or both the link and the link’s text (in a format you specify). Two handy context-menu items make this possible, and don’t add clutter; the items are only visible when right-clicking a link!

Firebug
Firebug integrates with FireFox to put a wealth of development tools at your fingertips while you browse. You can edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page.

FirePHP
FirePHP enables you to log to your Firebug Console using a simple PHP method call. You must have Firebug installed and the "Net" panel enabled to use this extension.

HackBar
Simple security audit / Penetration test tool.

KGen
KGen (Keyword Generator) is an extension that allows you to see what keywords are strong on visited web pages. Than, you can retrieve them for social sharing (tag filling) or webmastering/SEO.

MeasureIt
Draw out a ruler to get the pixel width and height of any elements on a web page.

Palette Grabber
Creates a color palette for Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, GIMP, Flash, Fireworks, Paint.NET, or OS X based on the current page.

Speed Dial
Direct access to your most visited web sites.

Tweak Network
FireFox has a couple of hidden network settings. With Tweak Network, you can tweak these settings, and you might be able to speed up the loading of web pages. You can also increase the maximum number of simultaneous downloads from a site (the default is only four).

Web Developer
Adds a menu and a toolbar with various web developer tools.

I’m sure there are 101 other plug-ins that people use regularly. I left out a few that are no longer offered that I love (such as Screen Grab!) or ones that I really don’t think anyone would give two flips about (Google Gears, Move Media Player, OperaView, Shareaholic, Smart Bookmarks Bar) that you could go and search for at your leisure.

Believe it or not, I’ve been around the web for a while and if it’s one thing that I’ve learned, comments make the world go ’round. Not just random generic comment spam, but honest comments with conversations between readers and the author.

It’s something, however, that many people have struggled with – especially those who are running little blogs such as myself. It’s one thing to GET comments, that’s hard enough, it’s another to get people to come back.

First, let me direct your attention over to www.yoast.com where they wrong a post regarding WordPress and SEO. It was pretty well written and I agree with nearly everything said. The portion on comment optimization is where I want you to really look at >> http://yoast.com/articles/wordpress-seo/#comment It has some interesting comments.

Comments are one of the most important aspects of blogs. As Wikipedia states:

The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs.

Comments are not only nice because people tell you how special you are, or that you made a mistake, or whatever else they have to tell you. Most of all they’re nice, because they show engagement. And engagement is one of the most important factors of getting people to link to you: they show you they care, and they open the conversation, now all you have to do is respond, and you’re building a relationship!

I’m going to talk mostly about plugs that help you moderate your comments and use your comments.

Let’s start by looking at administration.

 Ozh’ Absolute Comments
Reply instantly to comments, either from the email notification, or the usual Comments page, without loading the post first.

The description kind of speaks for itself.As you see in the screen shot there are a few nice options that will allow you to basically work with the comment right within the comments area of the admin. Very nice.

Delink Comment Author
Adds a link to comment e-mails for you to remove the URL the commenter left. Useful if you want to ditch the comment URL but keep the comment.

Again, self explaining. Adds an additional link to that menu. It’s great if you love the comment (spam or not) but want to get rid of the questionable link.

The last plug for your comments is a bit different. It really has nothing to do with administration. It has all to do with making your commenters come back or help them to feel a bit more .. special. It’s probably the most important, especially once you start getting a few comments at a time.

Comment relish is a WordPress plug-in developed to send an e-mail message to users who comment on your web site who have never commented before. The message dispatched to the user is defined within the plugin’s preferences. Numerous tags have been integrated to allow for information to be included in the message easily (I.E.: timestamp, author name, comment, ETC.).

All these plugs have been tested on my WP 2.6 installation and work flawlessly.