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100% Mo Time: Jobless Mo stuffs brain.
August 16, 2001 Web Development NonPop DJ in full effect

Redhead Frank

Frank visited by Annie

Frank and Earl running Bay To Breakers

Frank's got an idea!

Gene Hackman can't handle the tooth!

Devil Dentist prepared for action!
In order to turn NonPop into an autonomous entity, I've been studying several web technologies and design/layout theories.

NonPop will soon be a dynamic, database driven site which allows Artists to manage their own pages by uploading images and content.
This will significantly decrease the the time required to add new artists and will allow me to focus my attentions on new features to help artists promote their work.

The technology that will be utilized to create this functionality is PHP (Powerful and free scripting language) and MySQL (Powerful and free Database).

PHP is the open source alternative to popular and expensive languages such as ColdFusion and ASP.

MySQL is the open source alternative to popular, and extremely expensive databases such as Oracle.

To learn these two technologies, I'm studying " PHP and MySQL Web Development" a book by Luke Welling and Laura Thomson.

This is a wonderfully engaging and well written text. I'm approximately half way through and have gained an understanding of programming, database interaction, and how eCommerce sites are built.

I expect to complete this book by September, when I'll immediately begin implementing its concepts. Though I do suspect I will need to purchase an additional reference texts for PhP and MySQL.
August 16, 2001 Web Design/Usability
To create a good site layout I consulted several books, all of which strongly emphasize simplicity in design and technology.

My experience working as a project manager at two internet startups has mirrored the suggestions of the books:

  • Maintain navigation consistency.
  • Use text links rather than buttons where possible.
  • Use standard web functionality.
  • Don't crowd the screen.
  • Maintain page printability.
  • Don't overreach your capabilities.

    My experience in designing web sites is minimal, this is the first site I've created. I hope that I've attained user friendless, but I see much room for improvement. I intend to fix much of the issues with the coming redesign and PHP/MySQL implementation.

    My two favorite books regarding Web Design and Usability are:

    • Designing Web Usability by Jakob Nielsen

    "Through years of research and interaction with users, Jakob Nielsen has arrived at a series of principles that work in support of his findings: 1. that web users want to find what they're after quickly, and 2. if they don't know what they're after, they nevertheless want to browse quickly and access information they come across in a logical manner."

    Phillip and Alex's guide to Web Publishing

    "This book is a catalog of the mistakes that I've made while building more than 100 Web sites in the last five years. I wrote it in the hopes that others won't have to repeat those mistakes . . . To make a great site, you need to know a little bit about writing, photography, publishing, Unix system administration, RDBMS', user interface design, and programming.