From Tutorialized.com – Latest Tutorial Listings For Flash –Generating a random password or key in flash:
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Learn how to use flash actionscript 2 to generate random codes!
”
Category: Html Tipz
Some tips on better web design and development
Surviving in a 2.0 Web
Not that I’m one to wax nostalgic, but the Blogosphere has changed significantly since (I pretty much abandoned it). The trend in the last few years has been all about Social Networking, as opposed to people building blogs on their sites and standing alone.
No one will find you unless you have a LinkedIn, MySpace, and/or a Facebook profile to augment your presence.
Some things remain the same (for example, EVERYONE who has a web page or blog wants to be noticed…), but relying on an avalance of readers from even a popular blog seems to be gone forever…
My old formula of “Shine a spotlight on others and they will do the same to make you shine like a superstar” still seems to work. So does being totally obnoxious to get attention… but do I really want the latter? It was a double-edged sword. Sure, people found me in search engines, and I got a lot of design jobs… but then those same people would ask me to censor myself because I was now associated with their business/product…
So what’s a guy to do?
Who wants to read a bland and sterilized Eric Brooks?
I’ve been reading a lot of books on marketing lately, one I highly recommend is Buzz Marketing with Blogs For Dummies, by Susannah Gardner. Though it’s circa 2004, back when the Blogosphere was thriving, much of the principles still stand today.
I’m restructuring here (besides the new all-css design). I need to post here more often. Find a way to automate if I have to in order to keep the site fresh.
In all of the books I have been reading there has been one word consistently used in all of them: INFORMATION. Whether you are selling a product or just being a narcissist looking for attention, your primary goal in making blogs or new web pages is “giving your readers useful information”.
The rest will fall into place.
This is my new goal here.
Which EricBrooks.Com character are you?
Which of the EricBrooks.Com characters fits your personality the most? There are four distinct characters. TAKE the quiz.
Notice the “Visit EricBrooks.Com” links at the bottom of all the quiz results? YES! I have figured out how to bypass MySpaces “msplinks” crap and now my link is on countless MySpace profiles, to build my Google rankings back up to the glorious PR6 I used to be….
… And you are paying that SEO Guru *HOW MUCH* instead of paying me?
Seriously though… take the quiz. It’s fun!
Creating A 3D Logo In 3DS Max 9 From Adobe Illustrator Files
In this installment Chad shows how to use Adobe Illustrator’s powerful drawing tools as a method for the creation and use of 3DS Max objects. You will learn how to export the Illustrator files in the proper format so 3DS Max can use them, how to import them into 3DS Max and how to turn them into 3D objects.
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year or so, you can also discuss this on Problem Adults, or you can access a ton of graphic tutorials on our site! :p
How to get comments on your blog post
I’ve learned a neat trick over the years. End your post with a question.
“What do you think about…?”
“Is it fair for people to…”
“Will people buy this if it had…?”
I’ve found “Matter of fact/this is how it is” posts just sit there unresponded as there’s really nothing to add, or your readers are ambivalent on the subject.
“Question Posts” require a response. 🙂
Don’t you think so?
How to skin your WordPress theme
I have comments again, YAY ME!
Not that anyone leaves comments… buuut… 🙁
When I upgraded to WordPress2, I had a hard time making a flexible theme, so I ditched that idea and decided to parse the code myself (like I did with the original WordPress). The problem? My individual posts no longer had comments. (UH OH!)
So how do you make a theme that is flexible with your Domesticat-like skinning abilities?
You make a theme inside a theme, of course. 😀
- Open your wp-content/themes/[yourtheme]/header.php file
- Put in your skinning information in the header like you usually do.
- Open your wp-content/themes/[yourtheme]/footer.php file
- Hard code the variable information that you need, particularly this part…
<?php
$total_skins = 3;
$default_skin = 3;
$total_skins = 3;
$default_skin = 3;
if (isset($_REQUEST[‘newskin’])) {
$newskin=(int)$_REQUEST[‘newskin’];
if ( ($newskin<1) OR ($newskin>$total_skins) ) $newskin=$default_skin;
$skin=$newskin;
} elseif (isset($_COOKIE[‘skin’]))
$newskin = $_COOKIE[‘skin’];
elseif (isset($_REQUEST[‘newskin’])) {
$newskin=(int)$skin;
if ( ($newskin<1) OR ($newskin>$total_skins) ) $newskin=$default_skin;
} else $newskin=$default_skin;
include(‘/home/yoursite/public_html/skins/$skin/footer.php’);
?>
</body>
</html>
That part is the one that tells your theme what skin the reader has selected using. (It’s slightly changed from the Domesticat version as you can’t set cookies in the footer.).
For whatever reason, WordPress kills all your variables right after it does its thing. You need to re-code your variables in the footer as well.
Take that, Hotlinkers!
Dear CyberPals,
In case you’re unaware of my policy regarding graphics and content on my site here it is again:
TAKE IT!
HELP YOURSELF!
STEAL IT… IT’S OK, I’LL MAKE MORE SH!T UP!
Seriously. Hell, I’m flattered! I’ll never embarrass anyone with a silly email threatening to sue someone for taking my “Intellectual Property” (*snort* Sorry. can’t say that word without laughing.) For starters, it’s not worth me paying a lawyer $75 to mail a Cease & Desist letter; retaining that same lawyer when you respond back with a big ol’ “F**K You!!!”; to fly him and myself to your own home state pay even MORE court fees to get you in front of a judge for him to simply ask you to “take it down”. It’s not worth it. Besides, the most popular ones like Angel.jpg aren’t even mine to begin with. Just something I liked on the web a few years ago and saved on my server.
Besides, if you knew me in real life, you’d know I’d give you the last $5 in my pocket if I knew you needed it.
SAVE IT ON YOUR OWN SERVER!
The only thing I do ask is that you put it up on your server instead of hotlinking off of my site. This website explains Bandwidth Theft better than I can, since some people obviously skipped the class on “Netiquette” when they signed on to the internets.
Continue reading “Take that, Hotlinkers!”
Studies in Misanthropy
The Blogosphere has probably got the biggest collection of Misanthropic dumbasses. Ever.
Yes. People suck. Most (not all) people are a waste of your time, energy and resources… but still, why do bloggers expect cyberspace to be any warmer and more cordial than the real world?
The message boards are no better. I’ve been studying this one guy who posts in one section dedicated to “Shameless Self-promotion”, contributes nothing anywhere else in the message board, encourages no one, and is the BIGGEST complainer when no one responds to him!
Boo. Effing. Hoo.
A-Lists have come and gone in the blog world… but there is always that “lesser person” out there who expects the entire world to link to them and shower this loser with adulation when they can only talk about the least-interesting subject in the world… THEMSELVES.
In case you didn’t learn this lesson when you were five: “If you want a friend, you have to BE a friend.” Same with the world of blogs… if you want people to visit your site regularly, you have to visit other people regularly.
Dumbasses.
And on the 7th Day….
God said “Let there be a REDESIGN!!!”
Of course you can’t see it… but if you want a sneak peek as I’m working out the bugs you can click here. (To return back to the default layout, click here).
Continue reading “And on the 7th Day….”
Keep it Brief, stoopid!
In the world of web design and advertising, there is the rule of “KISS” (“Keep It Simple, Stupid!”).
This basically means that your HTML masterpiece isn’t worth a crap if your readers don’t bother to wait for it to load, or your magazine spread loses its message when you clutter it to show off your Photoshop and Quark prowess.
I got the following comment from a Comment Spammer, which I found invaluable.
“When you wish to instruct, be brief; that men?s minds take in quickly what you say, learn its lesson, and retain it faithfully. Every word that is unnecessary only pours over the side of a brimming mind. “
It’s so true.
Why do you think the simplicity of the Bush campaign beat out the long-winded Kerry?
Why does Instapundit is so popular over so many other blogs?
Why do major companies pay a fortune for a 30-second commercial when they can make a half hour infomercial on late night tv?
Not every one is an intellectual with a long attention span. In fact I’d say very few are.
If you want to reach out to the masses…. Keep It Brief, Stupid!
