I finally got a UI designer to complete the mockups for my site. And when it was time to get the HTML markup, he suggested I use a “Design to HTML” service. There is lots of them out there. You pretty much give them the Photoshop PSD file, and in return they provide you with XHTML/CSS markup. So...

I recently re-discovered a power feature on Firefox, and its ability to use keywords to help Firefox know which search engine you want to use without having to select it from the search engine lists. Why do this, well if you are like me, and get annoyed at the need of selecting a search engine form...

Some great work has come out of the plugins available for Grails. One of my favorite is the Active MQ (and JMS) plugins that allow grails (very easily) to integrate Java message. I have used these before, but then come up against an issue when upgrading my projects to Grails 1.2 M2. They stopped working!!! So...

We are all excited about what is install for us as the web evolves. Web 2.0 and Social Networking are so parsé, when are we going to get something new? I have been keeping a close eye on discussions about Social Computing. And you may have also seen a recent post of mine where I discuss “Connected...

I know there is a lot of developers kicking and screaming when they see this, but hear me out, as it is important for the success of your project/product and your sanity and the business being happy with you as a developer. Lets get one thing straight; REQUIREMENTS WILL CHANGE! I cannot stress this...

Often we find the challenge of turning an idea into reality quite daunting. And rightly so, its not easy. But the fact is, if you apply a) a process, and b) the discipline, you can get this done. The discipline is difficult and really up to you, but the process can certainly be challenging, and this...

When starting a new business. product or venture, many people get caught up on how do they get an idea out of their head and into some format that firstly articulates the idea, and secondly is a format that can be circulated. You hear about business plans, modelsetc etc, but I find that when you start...

Over the years, I have been involved in many web development projects (web sites and web applications) and teams, and something that we constantly do, but everyone has their own method, is to design or describe the web site as a whole. Some people use wireframes, prototypes, use cases and a whole variety...

Don’t you hate that? When you are working on something, and people start raising problems that we don’t actually have. In traditional projects, this is disguised under the term “risk”. Raise it, acknowledge it, maybe have one person spend 5 minutes thinking about it, then shelve...

Does your application have a personality? Does it portray a character or charisma when people use it? What is its charm? And why does this matter? Personality is the “feel” component of “look & feel”. It is often overlooked, or at the very least, misunderstood. Your application...