These desk icons has been released by Iconzworld. This is the first icon set they have done so hopefully you like it. They are available in both png and gif and in two different sizes of 128px and 64px.

They are free to do what ever you want with weather it will be for your web site, class project, application or just your desktop. Dont forget to see more nice and beautiful icons set here to download.

Taken From www.smashingapps.com

Lester Chan’s GaMerZ has announced that he has unleashed the first wave of updates for 11 of his WordPress plugins. These include:

• WP-EMail 2.30
• WP-PageNavi 2.30
• WP-PluginsUsed 1.30
• WP-Polls 2.30
• WP-PostRatings 1.30
• WP-Print 2.30
• WP-RelativeDate 1.30
• WP-ServerInfo 1.30
• WP-Sticky 1.30
• WP-Stats 2.30
• WP-Useronline 2.30

The remaining four plugins, WP-Ban, WP-DBManager, WP-DownloadManager, and WP-PostViews will be updated in wave two. Lester has stated that all of these plugins should work in WordPress 2.5 only and they have not been tested in any version below 2.5. Also worthy of note is that the folder path of some of the plugins have been fixed. Previously, the path was nested in another folder which generated a ton of hate mail for Lester because it broke automatic updates. Now that the path has been fixed, the automatic plugin upgrade feature should work correctly.

*Note* I updated my GaMerZ plugins today on my personal blog through the plugin upgrader in 2.5 and all of them were upgraded successfully.

Lester has been developing plugins for WordPress for quite some time now. We have praised Lester’s work at various occasions and we use many of his plugins actively on this site (including the post rating system you see below). He is a meticulous coder, provides extensive documentation, download options and demos and even provides his own support forums. Please be patient with his server, it takes a while to load the linked page but the downloads are mirrored, so they should be quick.

On my own blog, I’m using at least seven of his plugins. If you are using one or more of Lester’s plugins, let us know in the comments.

WPFreemium

WPFreemium is a two column theme widget-ready theme designed for multi-authored blogs. I integrated full gravatar support into all posts, author profiles and comments.

Greeny2.0

Greeny2.0 is a 2 column widget-ready theme. The theme has a web2.0 look and uses different flavors of the green color.

WP Garden

WP Garden is a beautiful two column widget ready theme which has a nice looking header and footer. The theme makes use of green colors for the links.

StudioPress

Update: Theme Link and Thumbnail removed for reported Copyright Issues with header Image

StudioPress is a two column WordPress theme crafted for photographers. StudioPress comes in two varieties - black and white.

Mini-wp

Mini-wp is a pownce look-a-like theme which is for people who don’t like to post long blog. The sidebar is empty and only contains a note about the author.

Andrea

Andrea is a beautiful 2 column theme which makes use of the blue color. The theme is simple and looks appealing to the eyes.

Three Column Themes

Aviation Journal

Aviation Journal is a simple, three column, widget-ready WordPress theme. Also includes a random header image script.

Serenity

Serenity is a three column WordPress theme. Widget ready, with a Site Map and no sidebar template, as well as custom 404 page.

One Column Themes

R3volution Continued

R3colution Continued is a one column theme. Clicking on the menu image will show you a hidden content area which you can manage using a widget provided in the theme admin section.

Two Column Themes

KeeSheep

KeeSheep is a two column widget-ready theme which is made up of bright orange colors. The theme makes good use of rounded corners throughout the theme.

Elegance

Elegance is a two column widget-ready theme with light colors. It comes with the PSD source files to edit graphics. There’s a cool ajax text loader at the top and other effects.

True Colours

True Colours is a two column fixed-width, widget-ready theme which makes use of sea-blue and green colors.

Corporate

Corporate is a two column widget ready theme. The theme uses a flash based plugin to rotate header images. The rest of theme is simple and uses basic colors. [EDIT] Removed due to copyright complaints.

YG Desire

YG Desire is a 2 column widget-ready themes. Theme uses deep background colors but the content area is plain white for maximum readability.

 Taken From http://weblogtoolscollection.com

When you are going to start a new business or revamp its image, the first thing you need (after selecting a the brand name) is a logo. And that could be a long quest, especially trying to find the right graphic designer at an affordable price. Fortunately there are some alternatives to design your own premium free logos online that can help you in that not-easy-at-all quest.

A nice option that’s worth a try is freelogoservices where you can do your own logo using their logo maker, using the one of the many logo templates they offer. To design your logo, the first thing you need is registering, then choosing a logo design among a variety of logo templates, then personalizing it with your brand name and colors, and finally receiving your logo via email in gif format.

These are some samples of the logos you can get with their logo maker.

Special Thanks & taken from http://www.snap2objects.com

  

More than half a century ago, Aemelius Müller, professor at the academy of Winterthur, Switzerland, came up with a formula that could predict the appreciation of a color-combination. In other words: Müller was able to predict which combination of colors most people would probably like.
 

		Müller’s formula predicts that these color combinations will be considered as ugly by most people.
		While these will be liked. How is this possible?

 

		First we need to consider the ‘natural’ brightness of the colors of the color circle, as discussed in this post about Brightness vs. Whiteness. You will notice that yellow, for instance, is a lot brighter than blue.
		On a scale from 1 to 100, bright yellow has a brightness value of 90, while bright blue has a value as low as 35. Likewise, every hue in the color circle has its own ‘natural’ brightness.

 

Now take this combination. All three colors have the exact same hue of blue. The only difference between the colors is their brightness.

Now we pair the last combination with the ‘ugly’ combination on the left and the ‘nice’ combination on the right.

See what happened? Towards the ‘ugly’ (left) side the dark blue shifted to a greener hue, while the bright blue shifted to a more purple hue. This is contrary to the ‘natural’ brightness of the colors. After all, if you check the color circles you will see that green is much brighter than purple. Towards the ‘nice’ (right) side the dark color shifted to purple while the bright color shifted to green. This shift is in accordance with the ‘natural’ brightness of the colors.

The same goes for the red combinations. Towards the ‘ugly’ side the colors shift contrary to the ‘natural’ brightness while on the ‘nice’ side they shift in accordance with the natural brightness.

So here’s the simple formula: If a combination follows the natural brightness of colors, most people will like it, if a combination contradicts the natural brightness of colors, most people won’t like it.

There is some dispute in academia whether or not to interpret the ‘nice’ color combinations as good taste. The obvious implication being that the ‘ugly’ combinations are of bad taste. I myself tested the formula on many occasions when lecturing a group of people. It never fails and it’s always fun to confront people with the predictability of their taste. But I also noticed that people in creative professions, such as artists or designers, often tend to like the ‘ugly’ combinations. Because people in this group often lay claim to ‘good’ taste, in my opinion the ‘taste’ hypothesis doesn’t hold. As far as I’m concerned no one can lay claim to good taste. People like it or they don’t. Good or bad taste is a non issue.

However, while Müller’s formula may not determine the difference between good or bad taste, it sure does predict common taste. And that makes the formula quite useful for any designer.

TAKEN FROM www.colourlovers.com

Ajax start pages are easy-to-use, customizable webpages, allowing you to keep up with the latest news and add interactive content. You can add new RSS feeds and widgets, and move your content around the page. In some ways start pages are the successors to the portals of the 90’s. They have yet to break into the mainstream, however the promotion of iGoogle and the presence of MyYahoo are facilitating the transition. Let’s explore some of the top players - and also some you may not have been aware of.

For in-depth analysis on start pages, check out Read/WriteWeb’s The Future of Personalized Start Pages and Business Models For Start Pages.

Netvibes

Netvibes is one of the leaders in the space. The interface is not only clean, but also very well thought-out. Usability seemed to be a big factor when designing the experience - and it shows. In March they released their Coriander Edition - a “super personalized homepage, including a “Netvibes Reader” with multimedia capabilities and new “instant sharing” capabilities.

Pageflakes

Pageflakes is another leading start page. I am a big fan of the initial 3 step set-up process and the high level of customization. It’s a very nice overall service. In July Pageflakes announced their latest version, code-named Blizzard. It introduces social networking functionality, themes, a slick Ajax UI, and more.

Protopage

Protopage is very cool. It may not be quite as practical as the front runners, but the ’sticky note’ type interface gets big points. Though the messaging is scattered, the drag-and-drop is wonderfully smooth.

iGoogle

iGoogle is probably the most simple of all the offerings. It is Google’s first big kick at AJAX start pages. The offering is extremely basic and lacks any clutter. See a full review here: iGoogle: The Epitome of Google Personalization

MyYahoo

MyYahoo is clearly tailored for the average Internet user. Messaging and instructions are clear and concise. Having said that, the interface is rather bland and functionality is limited. However, this is soon to change - as in March Yahoo announced a new beta My Yahoo with web 2.0 features. The beta My Yahoo has a fresh new design and some neat interactive features (using ajax of course!). It also aims to make personalization simpler.

Inbox

Inbox is a portal with an AJAX start page wrapper. As is the case with Yahoo, this offering will most likely appeal to regular folks, as it is easy-to-use. Advanced users may skip over it, as it lacks in the functionality department.

Eskobo

Eskobo ressembles a Netvibes clone, but there are slight differences. The service provdes a nice, clean page, but does not include anything revolutionary or particulary interesting.

ItsAStart

ItsAStart is a generic, two-column AJAX start page. There is nothing overly flashy or extraordinary about the service. In fact, I found that it offered the least attractive interface.

Favoor

Favoor is a beautifully designed start page, but it lacks in two key areas. Firstly, there is a mandatory registration process. Secondly, there is no default content once you finally access the page. Once these two obstacles can be eliminated, I think the site may have a chance at competing with the big boys.

24eyes

24eyes immediately engages the reader with a page full of news content. However, this can be somewhat daunting, as my eyes got lost! Perhaps I need 24 eyes to truly enjoy the experience to the utmost extent.

Conclusion

The need for a start page is undeniable. The ability to personalize and customize your own space saves time and hassle. A drag-and-drop interface is extremely easy and intuitive for newcomers to the feed aggregation concept. Adoption is simply dependent upon further education. One key question still remains however - where is the revenue model? Though these mini-portals are able to attract millions of users, monetization is needed for long term survival.

There are many other AJAX start pages available on the net. We have only chosen to list 10 of them and we’re not claiming this to be a ‘top ten’ list. Please feel free to add others in the comment section below. Also, let us know which is your favorite.

TAKEN FROM www.readwriteweb.com

 First, let’s see what I used: a white textile (canvas or so) and not a paper. Why? Because I want the result to be realistic and not plane. Also, it’s important that the background surface should not be glossy.
Natural light plus a tungsten light (two of them would be even better) and fill flash. Because the flash might overexpose some ares of the photo (usually the central area), I use a diffuser made from a very transparent soft plastic or canvas piece.
Usually this kind of thing refers to macro shots, so you may want to shoot in macro mode or manual.

Now let’s see the tips:
1. Use a textile background that makes a few soft “natural waves”
2. Use one little colored piece in your white composition as a reference
3. Use lights from all sides to avoid big dark shadows
4. Use fill flash (better with diffuser on it) to naturally brighten up the scene and reveal the details
5. Use custom white balance to ensure real white
6. Only use matrix light metering
7. Do not overexpose the picture in the attempt of getting pure white
8. Use manual focus if the auto does not find the desired focus point
9. Do not completely remove the shadows - let the shapes be visible
10. Use a software to remove dark corners that may form

Sometimes, even if I use custom white balance, I still need to cool the picture a bit later. The whole task of photographing white objects on white background can be very difficult and require allot of practice. On the other hand, shooting in RAW format may let you change the exposure even after the shot was taken.

TAKEN FROM www.photoaxe.com

When you mention patterned/tiled backgrounds, people immediately think of horrid MySpace pages and web designs circa-1990’s. It is therefore a worthy achievement when an artist is able to use this technique to make a website look stunning and attractive. An effective background design pattern can leave a memorable and positive feeling on the people who view these works of art.

by Ben Ostrowsky

Here I’ve compiled 20 beautiful and artistic websites that use tiled patterns to set their webpage apart from the ordinary.

1) Enlighten Designs

2) DNA

3) Sideshow

4) We Do The Web

5) Impressive Work

6) Hotel Belwether

7) David Loop

Olly Hite

9) OnTrack

10) Elitist Snob

11) Imagined Creative

12) THE SIDES

13) Tanya Merone

14) kesone.de

15) Jen Gordon

16) Viget Labs

17) variable.nz

18) Robert Beerworth Blog Australia

19) MAKAO

20) Saint Augustine Bed and Breakfast

These are all designs I feel have truly achieved a unique look by using a background pattern instead of going the safe route with a solid color.

Do you have any other websites to add to the list? Did I miss a website that belongs here? Be sure to leave the links on your comments.

Special Thanks & taken from sixrevisions.com

Are you an advanced JavaScript coder looking for more sites to sharpen your coding prowess? Maybe you’re a web designer wanting to double as a developer (or at least know enough to add a bit of rich content into your designs). Either way, if you’re looking for more information on the topic of JavaScript, the following resources are worth a gander.

Reference, Resources, & Tutorials

DevGuru - JavaScript Quick Reference

DevGuru provides an extensive list of JavaScript syntax, alphabetized similar to a glossary for easy scanning and searching.

TechCheatSheets.com - Javascript Cheat Sheets

A roundup of 10 JavaScript cheat sheets in one place; includes cheatsheets for frameworks such as jQuery and Prototype.

Google Groups - comp.lang.javascript

If you’re looking for a community of JavaScript’ers comp.lang.javascript is an active and helpful community of developers.

jQuery for Designers

jQuery for Designers is geared towards designers who want to learn about the jQuery library to add more dynamic content in their designs.

Freetechbooks.com - Free Online JavaScript Books

In this collection, you’ll be able to download 5 excellent e-books on the topic of JavaScript, all for free.

DZone

Although not purely a JavaScript resource, DZone regularly features articles, tutorials, resources, and news about JavaScript.

W3Schools - JavaScript Tutorial

W3School’s section on JavaScript offers beginning to advanced JavaScript topics.

15 Days Of jQuery

Straight off the home page, 15 Days of jQuery has “Fantastic tutorials and example code that takes you from zero to hero in no time flat“.

The “Mootorial”

//clientside’s tutorial on the mootools framework has a built-in console for you to try out JS code.

Premade Scripts/Code

AjaxDaddy

A collection of downloadable DHTML scripts. AjaxDaddy provides a demo for the featured scripts.

MiniAjax.com

Another site with a collection of DHTML and Ajax code, similar to AjaxDaddy.

JavaScript Kit

Here, you’ll find downloadable scripts, as well as tutorials and guides on JavaScript.

Dynamic Drive JavaScript code library

DHTML scripts organized into 16 categories including Calendars, Image Effects, Links & Tooltips, and more.

DHTMLgoodies.com

Yet another place to get your fix of DHTML/Ajax scripts. They also have a fairly nice and straight-forward Ajax basics tutorial.

4umi useful Javascript

A “database” of useful scripts and code snipplets that are updated fairly often.

Articles & Blog Posts

The Most Complete AJAX Framework and JavaScript Libraries List(124+)

The title pretty much says it all — it’s a huge list of JS frameworks/libraries.

The seven rules of unobtrusive JavaScript

This excellent article outlines seven things to keep in mind when trying to develop unobtrusive JavaScript solutions.

How simple is making your javascript unobtrusive? Easy as Pie.

A basic introductory article on “unobtrusive JavaScript.

The Top 40 Free Ajax & Javascript Code for Web Designers

A list of scripts geared towards web designers (i.e. not a lot of manual coding involved).

How to choose a JavaScript framework

Outlines a few considerations when deciding which JS framework is right for you.

Efficient JavaScript

An article on quick tips for optimizing your JavaScript code.

Ten Javascript Tools Everyone Should Have

A list of JS code snipplets recommended to have in your coding arsenal; among them are numeric sorting and working with cookies.

Serving JavaScript Fast

Optimal tips for serving/loading your JavaScript libraries quickly.

The Great Browser JavaScript Showdown

A comparison of the top 4 web browsers (IE7, Firefox 2, Safari 3.0.4, and Opera 9.5) when it comes to handling JS.

Quick guide to somewhat advanced JavaScript

A guide on Object-Oriented JavaScript coding.

Blogs & News

John Resig - Blog

John Resig is the creator/lead developer of jQuery and author of “Pro Javascript Techniques“.

Ajaxian - JavaScript

Ajaxian is a news site about Ajax and Rich Internet Applications. Over 850 stories have been tagged under the JavaScript topic.

Snook.CA - JavaScript Category

Snook.CA is Johnathan Snook’s site on the topic of web development. He writes about JavaScript, as well as other web dev topics.

Ajaxlines

Ajaxlines provides news and resources on the topic of Ajax. It currently has 140+ posts tagged under JavaScript.

QuirksBlog

QuirksBlog is part of JavaScript guru/web developer Peter-Paul Koch’s QuirksMode.org. His book ppk on JavaScript is an excellent book to own.

Ajaxonomy - Blogs

Ajaxonomy is a wonderful resource for JavaScript’ers interested in Ajax and other web technologies. It has many posts tagged with JavaScript.

Ajax Bestiary - A JavaScript Field Guide

Ajax Bestiary is a regularly updated blog on JavaScript.

Awesome Frameworks/Libraries

Prototype JavaScript framework

Prototype was one of the first popular frameworks. Several libraries and frameworks are based on Prototype (or still require it).

jQuery

jQuery is lightweight, elegant, and touted as one of the easiest JS frameworks to use.

mootools

My personal favorite.

The Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI)

A big and extremely robust JavaScript toolkit by Yahoo!.

JavaScriptMVC

JavaScriptMVC is a relatively new but very promising framework that offers a lot of unique components and features not found in other frameworks.

script.aculo.us

A robust effects library that’s been used by top websites such as Digg, Feedburner, and Apple; requires the inclusion of Prototype.

Ext JS

Another solid framework; it does have a restrictive license for commercial purposes. Check out the Web Desktop demo.

MochiKit

MochiKit is a robust library that offers a lot of utility functions and effects classes.

Dojo

Dojo is another framework to consider. visit the Spotlight section on the website to see real companies using Dojo.

Additional Resources

Author’s note - April 16, 2008. After the publication of this article, I recieved several recommendations from readers about additional resources that didn’t make the list. I’d like to add even more excellent JavaScript resources worth taking a look at. I’ll add more as suggestions come along.

• Learning jQuery - a multi-author weblog dedicated to sharing information about jQuery. It’s geared at all levels of JS coders wanting to learn about jQuery.
• Mastering JavaScript — concept and resource guide - A great list of resources pertaining to grokking JS.

Got any other resources you’d like to share with us? Make sure to talk about it in the comments section!

Special Thanks & taken from http://sixrevisions.com/