Website Template Assignment

Hello,

here are my list of five sites which are all covered by the  Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License. They are free to use and modify but I must provide a link to templatewords at which is already inside the html and CSS.

1. mCube- By Mahesh

http://demo.templateworld.com/zero/in_action/mCube/

This one is rather cool as you have some kind of 3D effect using flash that switches from one picture to the other. The design is neat and simplistic but its more suited for a company website. I might use this to update my company website later on.

2. Solitude- By Piyush

http://demo.templateworld.com/zero/in_action/solitude/

This one is nice but its more suited for a person's homepage or a page for a graphic artist that has a portfolio. You can login with a password which is nice.

3. Dusky- By Piyush

Very cool one. A bit too green thought but I like its minimalist drawings. Features News and also login!

http://demo.templateworld.com/zero/in_action/dusky/

4. 2 Breed- By Piyush

http://demo.templateworld.com/zero/in_action/2_breed/

This one is based on fruits but has many features. Login, blog, newsletter but is very condensed also.

5. FACING- By Piyush

http://demo.templateworld.com/zero/in_action/facing/

This template is the condensed and has many features as well. The smiley face with glasses is a bit weird but the overall design is nice. Also not sure about the orange color on top. I usually prefer websites that are more minimalist in nature so this one is not for me.

Wild Cam broken Africa

Edit:

Since we found out that particular Africa cam is no more, I would like to introduce you to really nice e alternative :

http://www.africam.com/wildlife/index.php

So far, I've been able to observe the birds. There was something in the pond it seems, or maybe it was my imagination but anyways, it did not come out but it made some ripples.

Andrei

Old post:

The WILD CAM Africa!

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/wildcamafrica/index.html

So, here I am supposed to write about the Africa wild cam feed,  but the missing plugin does not help me here. The problem lies in the fact that I cannot, or more easily put Safari cannot identify what the missing plugin is. It seems then, that my adventure ends here, before it even all began. Some of my excitement to see some African beasts has vanished, in a similar fashion to birthday cake candles being blown but half of them staying lit.  My hope to see the African wildlife has reached a state of neutrality, until the matter is resolved.


It would have certainly been nice to see that feed. In the hopes of receiving some points at least for originality or until the issue is fixed, I have decided to write the description of my problem in poetic fashion and set it into two A-B-A-B stanzas. Hopefully, I will still get my points on this assignment for some originality on this "placeholder" entry !

The Wild cam that never saw Africa


I went to look at the site, 
but got a missing plugin'.
I'm sure it would be alright
if only it was workin'.

I think I'll ask about it in class tomorrow,
I am positive there is an explanation.
I can't wait to see what lies south of the Congo,
In truth I really can't hide my desperation.


Greetings from Africa...Baltimore,


Andrei

"From Web page to Web platform: Web 2.0" Review

"From Web page to Web platform " By Martin LaMonicahttp://news.com.com/From+Web+page+to+Web+platform/2100-7345_3-5833940.html

La Monica represents well the changes that are occurring with the internet.  Today, everything is merging. Is there such thing as specific as a Web company anymore ? The repercussion of such changes have helped advance the evolution of mobile world very quickly. It is not long ago that mobile phones and internet did not fraternize at all. The development of iOS and Android were a big leap forward in the idea of merging software with web that has been happening for a few years.

With the power of the internet but more specifically software and internet based programs on mobile devices, things have never opened up as much as today. Want to read the Baltimore Sun? There's an app for that. Want to check the time the bus will come? There's an app... There's an app for everything ! What impact will it have on the web as we see it now, on this tradition of executing tasks through the interface of a web page ? I fear it will become less popular with time as everything will be done through other means.

WPD page review

Okay, its time to review two pages from past WPD students!

1) Sam Brannon (Composer)

As I first entered the site, I was greeted by a very minimalist looking style. The composer's name, two bars of piano music and 6 links appeared. This type of design shows just the right amount of information. Too much information cluttered in one page can it frustrating for the viewer. Brannon's page avoids this issue. His page includes pictures, a list of concerts, a list of his works, contact info and bio. The content is clear, easy to find and the site is easy to navigate. Its a great site.

2) Robert Walliczek

The second site I chose has a very interesting choice of colours. Its an easy site to navigate as well. A search option was included but it wasn't finished. I like the menu on the left and the site is W3C compliant as well. Wonderful !

Zen Garden page review

For the assignment in the WPD class I picked these two Zen Garden Styles.


1) Leggo My Ego by Jon Tan


This one is quite amusing as it includes a landscape made with lego blocks. The way the title is aligned is also interesting. Notice the house with the satellite dish and the bridge that goes over the river. If you scroll at the bottom of the page, you can see a tree and a part of some building or wall. One thing that could be improved is the choice of colours. They seem a little washed out and a bit bland but overall Leggo My Ego is an interesting design.


2) A simple sunrise by Rob Soule


The second one looks nice in a preview but has slight rendering problems at least in Safari 5. The Menu design covers some of the text. The overall design is nice (Who doesn't like a sunset ?!) but that does not make it up for the text problem. Zooming or out did not fix the problem. The problem is displayed in the following screenshot.