I’m currently starting my last class with the Art Institute Online and the warm, fuzzy realization that I may actually gain some of my spare time back is creeping in. Ironic that I still want to spend that same spare time attached to the computer. Here are a few of the things keeping me glued:
Artboredom Webodega.
Web bodega (third on the list, fourth occasionally). I started making t-shirt designs back in the early 90’s and now I want to sell them. As much as I want to code the backend, I think that ZenCart is getting the nod for the brute work. I’m also working on how they’re going to get screened as I have no room to do this myself. I’ve looked into web based solutions that aren’t CafePress, but none have truly stood out. Anyone have ideas on this?
When I’m procrastinating on my school work I’m usually on Illustrator hammering out some shirt designs en masse. I’m pretty excited about the bulk of the work I’ve been doing, but they all need some refining. I also want to do posters and stickers, but I think that those might have to stay on the backburner for the time being.
Playing with web apps.
When you’re pressed for time you always seem to find something that looks cool to play with, but you know that you’ll never get your work done. I’ve been looking at a ton of apps to add to the site but haven’t had the time to check them out.
Simple Pie is one that I think I’ll give a try. It’s a simple RSS parser similar to Magpiebut from what I’ve seen and read it looks like it has more features. I need to have my blog feed update itself on its own. I’m tired of updating the links myself. I’m sure I’ll find some other sweet uses as I really get into it.
I’ve been experimenting with the JavaScript framework mootools lately. I’ve tried in on a few pages that I haven’t released to the public as of yet, but it looks pretty tasty so far. Their demo and help pages are very well done making it easy to get familiar with everything. This is one of those add-ons that can get out of hand quickly, so I have to use them sparingly. But there’s interactivity on the screen and it doesn’t involve Flash; how perfect is that?
For anyone that hasn’t seen them, in addition to mootools you could check out: script.aculo.us, which is based off the Prototype framework, the Dojo toolkit, and moo.fx which is an effects library for both the mootools and Prototype frameworks. I know there’s more, but that was getting ridiculous.
Technorati Tags: JavaScript frameworks, script.aculo.us, mootools, dojo, prototype, moo.fx, web applications
