Today (Oct 4, 2011) I noticed that Facebook images are not showing up for most all profile images and some other images throughout the site as well. No, there is not something wrong with your computer or internet connection. It is definitely a problem on facebook's end. Loading an image directly, I get an error response from their server(s):

Service Unavailable
The server is temporarily unable to service your request. Please try again later. 
Reference #6.25cf8f18.1317756735.ed1ffe2f

Whoops!

Facebook has had some glitches in the past, and fixed them soon after, so this isn't the first time and probably won't be the last. They're probably working on it as we speak. This bug most likely has something to do with the new features and changes they've been rolling out recently, but could also be a server failure. Though, as you would expect facebook to have redundant back up servers, it seems unlikely that just a single server issue would cause broken images, so it might be a larger issue. This is, of course, all speculation at this point until they make a statement.

Is Facebook Having a Mid-Life Meltdown?

Considering the recent launch of Google+ as their new competitor and biggest "other option" for major social networking sites, Facebook has noticeably sped up their evolution and started to seemingly scramble to do things that make them better than G+, or at least tried to... they've suddenly started to panic as "the old guy" and tried to make some awkward moves back into coolness, mostly unsuccessfully.

However, they have not seem to taken into account that people have been especially sensitive to any changes on facebook now that there is a new major player and "other option" with G+, including some of their not-so-great recent changes like the scrolling feed, newsfeed "relevance" changes, privacy changes, buggy new image viewer (sometimes arrows show, sometimes they don't, inconsistent behaviors, harder to look at and washed out) etc.

With their HUGE web developer staff, you would think they could develop a better way to roll out features to people and allow them to elect updates, more like browsers or other software has done, so that if people really just want it "the way it is," they can choose to stay that way.  Oh well!  Maybe they'll wise up.  Or, maybe they will keep innovating whatever they can think of in this lackluster buckshot attempt to stay ahead and just ruin their own site. 

Some people think FB has really F'd themselves in the B already. :-P

Between bugs, mistakes, server problems, SPAM getting into the network, new features that just aren't that great, Facebook really seems to be slipping up under pressure. More and more you see comments from people like "I like the old facebook better."  I am reminded of the point at which MySpace turned into a complete mess, and people gravitated in hoards to facebook instead.  This could be that point for facebook with Google+ stepping up to the plate and FB dropping the ball.  Even major social gaming companies like Zynga are releasing games on the G+ platform (Google's homepage sported a Cityville+ link recently) in addition to their traditionally Facebook platform games which gives G+ even more value, credibility, loyalty, and staying power as a social network with the new user base.

This is one of many examples of how Zuckerberg has lost touch with his one and only notable company and product.  He is proving to be less of a genius, and more of a one trick pony trying to toss in a few new tricks.  He should really embrace more creative innovations and make them optional to his ENORMOUS user base to learn what is and isn't going to be the next big innovation. (read: zuckerberg call me ;)

It will be very interesting to watch how this unfolds, as this could be the beginning of a power shift from Fb to G+.  As it stands, Facebook gets a big -1 for hastily forcing innovation on reluctant users and breaking things while trying to fix what wasn't previously broke, and for Google, a big +1 (pun intended) for generally not sucking, ever (great job).

What do you think?

PS: Facebook, if you are reading this, please call me so I can save you / take it to the next level. ;)

This drove me crazy once or twice. Sometimes backgrounds and images don't play nice and overlap eachother in unintended ways.  So, you want to set the depth-order to fix this, with the z-index CSS property.

It seems simple enough.  Z-index: 10 is "behind" Z-index: 20 is "behind" Z-index: 50 and so on.  But, give it a shot and it frequently has no effect whatsoever and just seems to not work.  Well, there is just one tidbit of information missing in this equation:

To get Z-Index to work, you must have the DISPLAY property set to either:

position: relative; or position: absolute;
 

ex:  To ensure "div_on_top" stays in front of  "div_underneath"...

 HTML:

<div id="div_on_top">content on top...</div>

<div id="div_underneath">content underneath...</div>

CSS:

#div_on_top {

  position: relative;
  z-index: 20;

}

#div_underneath {

  position: relative;
  z-index: 1;

}


Here's a full explanation: 

https://developer.mozilla.org/En/Understanding_CSS_z-index/The_stacking_context

Do you sometimes wonder - why is my internet so slow?  Ever think it might be something stealing your internet speed behind the scenes?  It's entirely possible with so much malware, spyware, trojans, spam bots, bot nets, and other sneaky things out there on the internet installing themselves on your computer every chance they get.  Here's what you do to get rid of them and keep your computer clean and fast:

First off - this one should go without saying, so I won't list it as an actual step:
Make sure you've got a password on your WiFi router so your whole neighborhood isn't stealing your internet from you!  Duh!
>>> Click here if you don't know how to set a password on your WiFi router
(or ask any of your nerdy friends, they will do it for you in 10 minutes.)

1) Have a Virus Scanner Up to Date.

This is another no-brainer in 2011.  IF you don't have one, then you probably have viruses.  Get one!  There are some great free virus scanners out there, like AVG, and many others.

Once you have a virus scanner, set it to run nightly or after you leave work daily so that it doesn't slow down your computer scanning while you're working on it.  Open it periodically and update it, or set it to automatically update if there is an option for that, so you don't have to think about it anymore. :)

Get AVG Free Virus Scanner.

2) Have Spyware / Adware / Malware Protection

Many annoying little adware browser toolbars and browser hijackers don't even qualify as "viruses".  These two programs, SpyBot and Malware Bytes are well known for capturing and eliminating these performance draining pests.

When you get SpyBot installed, click the "Immunize" feature that will block thousands of well known spyware sites from connecting.  Update all these programs and scan your whole computer, you will be surprised how many things it will find if it's the first time you've run it (might find over 100 if you're computer has been on the internet a long time without it).

Get SpyBot Search & Destroy (free)

Get Malware Bytes (free) 

3) Advanced Users: Look under the hood and remove the crap!

For more advanced users - you should take a look under the hood in windows and see what is starting up every time your computer loads, look at what browser hijacks are in place, and start cutting all that crap out!  You can also look at what is running in the background and lookup what each process is, and some may well known malware or virus type processes.  The best, most straightforward tools I've found to do this is the SysInternals suite for startup and background processes, and HijackThis for browser hijacks and registry BS.  Be careful what you remove, as removing system processes may break windows if they are actually legit files, so use  the tools to google what these files are before you remove them.  If you don't know, you can always post your HijackThis report to help forums where experts will know exactly what to look for.

Get SysInternals Suite (Free)

Get HijackThis (free)

Done!  All clean.  :)

Follow these 3 recommendations to protect against viruses, spyware / malware, adware, needless startup programs, needless background programs, and your computer will run faster, smoother, and just SO MUCH BETTER!!!!  Especially your web browsers and overall internet speed...

4) Something fishy is still going on...

If you've done all of the above and something fishy is still stealing your internet speed, run a packet sniffer to observe what is going on in your network activity.  It may turn out to be a program you've installed that you don't even realize is hogging your internet connection.  Wireshark is highly recommended (formerly Ethereal) for doing exactly that- sniffing out what's sending/receiving over your network:

Get Wireshark (free)

Position:

We are seeking an experienced PHP/MySQL web developer that can both program solutions to website and application requirements as well as architect solutions for other programmers to develop. Candidate will be hired as an independent contractor and may be reviewed and hired as a part time or full time employee after initial project(s) are completed.

Requirements:

Candidates must:

• be experienced with PHP and MySQL development (at least 3 years).
• be a problem solver that can both create and program solutions to functionality requirements as well as guide and manage (create) technical requirements for other outsourced programmers
• be able to work independently and with remote developers with minimal oversight in a fast-paced but casual environment
• be able to keep up to date on a number of different projects at once (1-4 projects at any given time)
• have experience and understanding of modular or component based architecture
• have understanding of developing reusable code across multiple websites that run our CMS (modules, components, plugins), a platform similar to WordPress.
• be able to use version control (SVN) to manage sharing and combining code with other developers
• have experience with building and extending Content Management Systems
• be able to work about 20 hours per week in-office in Del Mar, CA - any schedule that fit within our business hours (9:30am – 6pm) – flexible hours permitted
• have own laptop or desktop computer to use in office

Compensation:

$25-$40 /hr based on experience

Respond to:

Please send your resume and a cover letter to contact (at) OneGiantMedia.com. In your cover letter please highlight at least 1 (preferably 3) projects or companies that you have worked with that showcase your best or closest work to the areas listed in the job requirements.

Company:

One Giant Media is a 2.5 year-old boutique web design & development agency with a cutting-edge, friendly, relaxed, flexible, fun, fast-paced, intellectually challenging, and hard-working culture.

We service local, national, and international clients from small businesses to large corporations. We have built a client list of from small businesses to medium & large well-known companies and are a preferred vendor for 3M. We specialize in building unique websites powered by our own custom home-grown Content Management System as well as unique Flash / Flex web applications (all with our PHP/MySQL CMS).

We're located less than a half mile South of the Del Mar Fairgrounds and a half mile North of Del Mar town center & shopping plaza where there are many restaurants, cafes, and the beach.

Our office environment intentionally has a professional but casual and non-corporate feel with a nice patio. We are forward thinking and very serious about keeping a culture that everyone enjoys and can thrive in. We would never make anyone work in a cubicle, and will have you pick out a comfortable new desk chair of your liking. We are dog friendly. We work with any number of consultants and contractors that may be in the office for a project at any time. We are results focused and let you make your own hours. We'll never tell you that you are late to work. We like to order lunch for everyone at least once a week; mini pizza parties are common. If you've seen the movie Office Space, think the opposite. :)

We only evaluate contractors based on results for consideration for hiring as a full time employee. We look for the “rock star developers” that have the passion for technology and the attitude that if you can think it, we can build it.
Please send your resume and a cover letter to contact (at) OneGiantMedia.com

The FLVPlayback component in Flash is a nice quick and easy way to get video into a Flash movie.  Whether your work flow calls for compiling the movie directly for web, or you're loading it into a larger AS3 application, using Flash to embed the video in the SWF saves time over pure code options. 

This is where a strange default behavior happens: when you go into Full Screen Mode the movie takes over the entire screen, and often shows up completely black.  Yikes.  The solution is very easy - you need to change a default value on the FLVPlayback component that does not show in the Component Parameters browser in the Flash UI using actionscript.  It's a 1-line simple setting that you can do in the same frame that your movie is placed on the stage in (for frame actions window select your frame and press F9 or open Actions from the Window menu):

myFlvPlayBackComponent.fullScreenTakeOver = false;

n00b note: Of course, like any actionscript done in the actions window in Flash for an object on stage, you will need to give your video component an instance name in the properties window in Flash and use that matching name in the code above- I named mine "myFlvPlayBackComponent" and thus am using that name in the code.  Also, it will only work if the code is on the timeline at the same frame or later than where the video component is present on stage.  In other words, if you're video component is placed on stage in Frame 2 and you put the actionscript code in Frame 1, the video will not be found yet and will cause an error.

Do this and test it - when you send your movie into Full Screen Mode, the movie should not take over the screen anymore.  If it doesn't work, use the Flash Debug Player with your browser to catch any errors that might prevent the code from working properly.

Having a Content Management system like OG CMS is great - it allows you edit your own content whenever you want, quickly and easily.  But, sometimes you make a page and it just doesn't look good like all the cool websites you see, and thus the question I get all the time:

"How do I make the content (the text) look good?"

What you want if you're a business or anything that you want to be looked at and considered "professional", "trustworthy", and "official".  The look of real businesses has evolved for hundreds of years, and people have gotten used to seeing a certain combination of looks when it comes to text.  You don't need to come up with something new or creative for your text to look good - if you do you're trying to reinvent the wheel (or do something artistic).  You just need to do what's worked for centuries with an eye towards the web style.  It's about catering to what's easy and expected for your audience.

Here's some surefire ways to make your site look cleaner, more organized, more professional, trustworthy, and more readable.

Use Big Titles (Like This One).

Using big titles follows the traditional look of newspaper and poster headlines - big, bold, to the point.  When you're title is big, you have less space to fit what you have to say, so you're forced to keep it short.  This is perfect for the ADD attention span of the average internet user and they will actually get something from the page right away in the clear, big title text.

It's also very designy because the nice clear differentiation and contrast between big and small is quick for the eye to pick up on and say to your brain "there's some design going on here."  This is especially true if the title is a different color than the paragraphs that follow- then they can really pop.

Bonus" If you use header tags, (h1, h2, h3, h4, etc) it's weighted "heavy" to search engines and can improve SEO for the keywords in them.

As your content continues down the page, you may want to use smaller subtitles so not to overload the page with too much big text.  Once there's too much of anything on a page, there's visual competition and it's not nice to look at anymore.  Big titles are to the point, they look good, and they speak to the user in the 4-10 words at a time that they have the patience for.

Use Paragraphs, Not Mountains

You need to consider your audience and ask yourself, are these interested readers that are dedicated to taking a lot of time to read this?  Unless you're talking about a blog, you probably are trying to capture passing traffic, not educate or entertain with your writing.  So, whenever you can, keep it short!

Consistency, Consistency, Consistency

Standardization is the recognition of life.  Brand logos, caution signs, traffic lights, mcdonalds hamburgers.  You know these things when you see them because they are ALWAYS THE SAME.  This is the basis of gaining people's immediate trust: appealing to their familiarities and it's built on repetition and consistency. 

This works on a lower level too, when people read your site, you want them to subconsciously say "yeah, this looks like what I am used to."  This will instantly give you credibility.  So, as you make font choices, color choices, size choices, do it the SAME WAY every time.  CSS stylesheets should be used for text design decisions so that all titles and paragraphs in your site look the same when they're big, the same when they're small, etc.  This consistency will give the entire design credibility.

Follow these simple rules and your site will look so fresh, and so clean. ;)

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