• new website (almost ready to go live)
• new tumblr blog (keeping wordpress too)
• new interactive photo gallery connected to my new flickr account
• up and coming album in the works (will share a new song on the site)

As you can see, my website might be silent but many things are going on behind the scenes. Stay tuned…

Let me know of any issues you come across.

In case you don’t know, RapidWeaver is a great Mac-only website development application.

Check it out on our company blog at Lenker Design and Marketing and leave me a comment to let me know your thoughts.

Free Website Template

Ever since Steve Jobs revealed the upcoming iPad would be lacking flash capabilities, the web development world has been shaken, pondering the question “is it possible to live without flash?”. Even in our office at Lenker Design, we have been debating our use of flash in current and future web development. So… flash, or no flash… what should be our answer? Here are my thoughts on the subject:

My Thoughts…

First of all, I want to share my love/hate relationship with adobe flash. I love what it does and the fact that flash media looks virtually the same on all browsers. However, I’ve always found the application to be a little on the quirky side. Another one of my frustrations is the inability to easily work with a database in flash.

Is Apple Wrong?

I don’t believe I have the right to call Apple, such an innovative company and leader in implementation of up-coming technologies, wrong when they say that a technology is outdated. On the other hand, I can’t see flash disappearing from the web anytime soon. The internet is too ‘flashified’ for it to just vanish overnight… even if the iPad is a huge hit!

Can Flash Be Replaced?

Of course it can… Can it be replaced right now? Not so sure. There are plenty of great javascript replacements for much of what flash does… some of my favorite being the jQuery and Scriptaculous libraries. But there are some things that can’t be replaced just yet.

Should I Continue to Use Flash?

I just finished coding a new interactive site using jQuery instead of flash and had lots of fun doing it. I implemented some lava-lamp navigation, elegant slideshows, ajax-powered forms, and a database-driven interactive site-plan with dynamic text and images for lot availability (I’ll include a link when the site goes live). The point is… there are lots of good ways to replace flash interactivity for a lot of what we as web developers do… and sometimes we should. That said, I don’t think we need to be afraid continue using flash elements when there is no other good alternative…there… I said it (don’t be afraid to still use flash).

Conclusion…(short and sweet)

Do I think flash is evil? Certainly not. However, I do plan on building all future sites without flash elements, unless there is no other way to complete the task.

I also believe that if your site is flash-heavy, you should provide a mobile alternative for non-flash devices. You really have no excuse not to with such easy to use frameworks as jQTouch and IUI available for free.

If you’ve made it this far… thanks for listening and please leave some of your thoughts and opinions in the form of a comment below.

My love for photography began a few years ago when I had used my 4mp Kodak point-and-shoot camera to it’s limit and decided to buy my first dslr. I have to admit, using a dslr was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I was under the impression that I could take the most amazing “Pro” photos right out of the box… but I found the opposite of that to be true. The dslr world took some learning (thanks david asscherick) and getting use to.

I’ve also learned that the best photographers are the best photographers, not solely because of their photography skills and nice equipment, but also by their ability to use a photo editing application well. I purchased Apple’s Aperture about 6 months ago because Photoshop was overwhelming and slowed my workflow. I’ve learned a lot since using Aperture, and my photos have seen major improvements (especially since I began shooting raw). However,  Aperture 3  has taken my photography to a whole new level and has dramatically sped up my workflow.

If you care at all about how your digital photos look… try Aperture… you will love it! Thanks Apple for another great app!

I’m including a few photos I took today (and edited very quickly)… enjoy!

PS: Be sure to watch the tutorial videos on Apple.com

Been meaning to write some more reviews, I really enjoy doing that. I’ve gotten a few new gadgets I want to write about. Can’t wait to get my hands on an iPad!

Anyway, that’s all for now. Been fighting a cold and not feeling so well, so goodnight to all… and to all a good night!

Material – made of high quality metal and plastic material, much more durable than the “Apple Mouse (aka mighty mouse)”… I really like the on/off switch

Design – this mouse has a great feel, unless you have large hands… it sits low and is very compact, easy to fit in a pocket on your laptop bag

Usability – I’m sorry to say that this mouse is missing when it comes to usability… there are two things this mouse is missing:

1) the Apple Mouse featured 2 buttons on either side that allow you to squeeze for a particular function… Apple, why did you take this away?
2) the Apple Mouse also featured a button on the scroll wheel that I used for “spaces”… there is no good replacement for this button either!

I hate to say it, but I will probably go back to using my old Apple Mouse very soon because of the lack of buttons on the Magic Mouse. The Magic Mouse will become a on-the-go mouse for my laptop.

There is some third-party software available to give the Magic Mouse more “touch” functionality, but I found this functionality to get in the way more than anything. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

PS: Apple, what’s up with the name? You guys really couldn’t come up with a better name than “Magic Mouse”. That sounds like something out of the Ghost busters!

My first purchase was a set of Insignias (Best Buy brand). I’ve bought other Insignia products and have been content with the quality. I found the headset on sale for $30, but after my third pair quit working for no reason, I decided to spend the money on a name-brand pair. I’ve tried several different brands and there is always something I don’t like. The set I finally settled is the Jabra Halo.

I wasn’t looking for a pair that goes over the head, but I liked everything else about the Halo like: the sleek one-button design, touch controls, portability, dual microphones for noise cancellation, comfort, high quality sound, and the ability to pair with 2 devices at once.

This headset has lived up to it’s promises so far. I love the ability to pair with my iPhone and iMac at the same time so I can listen to music in iTunes and still catch a call without missing a beat! I did have some trouble with the bluetooth on my iMac with every headset I tried. I finally realized the problem was stemming from too many bluetooth devices connected at one time (mouse, keyboard, and headphones). I simply started using a wired keyboard and my issues went away.

The sound quality is excellent when listening to music and taking calls is such a pleasure, even when riding in a noisy vehicle.

The only complaints I have are:
1. the touch controls don’t work as smoothly as they should
2. voice control on my iPhone 3Gs doesn’t work with this headset (hopefully Apple with put out an update to fix this soon)

Overall, the Jabra Halo is an excellent buy.

We were pleasantly surprised to find a dinner buffet, usually we only find those at lunch time! They had numerous vegetarian options (we are both vegetarians) and they were well-marked. Everything I tried was excellent and fresh.

Our favorite item was the naan (bread). There were several flavors and they were all fresh and incredible! We will be back very soon.

Earlier today, confirming rumors, Apple released their new “Magic Mouse” along with several other product upgrades including the new 27 inch iMac! I’ve been waiting on a product like this for a long time. Don’t get me wrong, the Mighty Mouse is a great device, but it’s still just a regular ol’ mouse with an upgraded scroll wheel. The Magic Mouse takes the “mouse” to a whole new level. Finally, “touch” has been united with the “mouse”! Going to order mine tonight!