We finally launched seyDesign 2008

Did you hear that? That was the sigh of relief heard around the world. Why? Because I just launched the biggest site porting I have ever done in my career with nothing more than a few typo's to sully to good name of seyDoggy. In case you've missed the buzz, I am talking about the LONG awaited seyDesign 2008 relaunch, a rather large on-line store and resource that sells RapidWeaver themes.

On the surface it doesn't look like such a big deal right? But underneath it all is a site that consists of more than 280 pages which include product write-ups, downloads, support areas, contact forms and store pages. Nearly all of this was rebuilt from the ground up; new copy, new graphics, new style, new typography... a ton of work! But the most challenging in any site relaunch is not have any broken or orphaned links, files or downloads. So far I have only managed one broken download link. Not bad out of 280+ pages.

Now that I have this monster behind me, it's time to celebrate the Canada Day long weekend the best I know how... CAMPING! I will catch you all again on July 2. w00t!

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SproutCore; open source meets Apple and web apps

When Apple assimilates... er... I mean hires developers, you often wonder what will come of it. Will a shinning star be snuffed out, buried, forgotten or stymied? Or will great things happen, pushing the envelope that contains the Apple-sphere, making the hardware giant showcase a new facet of the... erm... once narrow minded, acutely focussed business model.

One could wonder such things when Apple hired Charles Jolley, Sproutit founder and Mailroom developer, to re-architect their .Mac side of things. We have seen new things pop up in .Mac that were surely the influence of a Charles Jolley way of thinking; the photo gallery and what-not. And then comes MobileMe, a very rich internet application that defies all that we have known about web apps; they don't have to suck. Surely this is the work of Charles Jolley. So what is to become of this seemingly fresh way of doing RIA's?

That's when Apple (and a few friends) drop SproutCore on us, an open standard platform for building web apps that look and feel like desktop apps... seriously... they do. But let me restate the cool part, open standard platform. That's right, this is not Flash or SilverLight or even Java, this is open web standards such as HTML, CSS and Javascript with a bit of Cocoa inspiration.

Finally a javascript framework that I can get behind and one that I can sit down and take a crack at, knowing that a) it's open and b) it has the support of a few heavy hitters behind it.

seyDesign 2008 is nearly complete

It has been months in the making and may be a week or two longer, but seyDesign 2008 is definitely nearing completion. All that's left to do is tie up some of the loose ends, do some browser testing, write a press release or two...

So in working on seyDesign 2008, I have been able to take a retrospective look at seyDesign, seyDoggy and where things have gone with both branches in the past 3 years. One thing has really struck me; Kitchener-Waterloo is well known for it's tech-sector (thanks in part to R.I.M and our incredible universities), Kitchener-Waterloo has a lot of web designers and web developers and Kitchener-Waterloo has a reasonably good Mac to PC ratio (enough to support both an independent reseller and a Best Buy Apple store)... So why is it then, that I remain the only RapidWeaver theme developer in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, and only one of three in all of Canada?

RapidWeaver is no flash in the pan; it's here to stay. The same is true of Macs. I would welcome the some local camaraderie in this world of RapidWeaver theme development and maybe some day it will happen. If you are a web designer, a Mac user, have heard of RapidWeaver and hail from the Kitchener-Waterloo area, why not drop me a line. There is so much to talk about

FlipSide5 at WWDC '08

Well the reports abound from friends and colleagues who were fortunate enough to be at Apples WWDC this year; FlipSide5 games, graphics and references can be seen everywhere! This is a pretty big honor for seyDoggy, a little web and graphic design based in Kitchener-Waterloo, to have their work meandering through the largest Apple conference in history, seen in demonstrations, talked about amongst developer elite, given nods to by VERY important people, and seen in the top row of the Graphics State of the Union when presenters started in about the web app success!

Now don't get me wrong, I am not trying to take any thunder from Michael Sanford and FlipSide5, where all due credit lies for the vision and ambition of the company. I am just glad that I was able to play a part in shaping the face of a company that is set to really take off. It just really gives me warm fuzzies inside.

FlipSide5 got Slurped

I hate to keep going on about FlipSide5, but when I have a winner I just keep quiet about it. One of the biggest honors for me as a small town Kitchener web designer is to see my work in the showcase sites. So far, FlipSide5 has appeared in DesignSnack, CSS Mania, Most Inspired, and now, my favorite showcase of all, The Daily Slurp.

What I like best about The Daily Slurp is that designers have little say in what gets listed there. You can submit a site for review (which I've never done) but from all accounts it does little good. The Daily Slurp just happens to sites for whatever reason. The good ones just get found.

FlipSide5 awarded place in DesignSnack

What an honor this morning to find that our submission of the FlipSide5 website to DesignSnacks website showcase, has received enough positive feedback to earn a spot in the permanent showcase. Currently you can find the FlipSide5 site on the front page of DesignSnack or you can have a look at the FlipSide5 submission permalink.