Stephen Burge's Blog, page 134
January 7, 2015
10 CMS Predictions for 2015
The last couple of years have been quiet in the CMS world.
Large, existing projects produced almost no major releases.
New projects often showed steady improvement, but none have yet reached the mainstream.
However, in 2015, I sense that big change is coming and that this will a really important year for web platforms.
It's time to open up the crystal ball and make some predictions for 2015.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Large, existing projects produced almost no major releases.
New projects often showed steady improvement, but none have yet reached the mainstream.
However, in 2015, I sense that big change is coming and that this will a really important year for web platforms.
It's time to open up the crystal ball and make some predictions for 2015.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
1 Great Thing in 2014: Meteor
Ever since I found out about Node.js, I was intrigued by its potential. It had a lot of great features (ex. asynchronous I/O, event-driven, etc), but the one that stuck out the most was the ability to run Javascript on the server-side.
Instead of having to learn a server-side-only programming language (ex. PHP) and a client-side-only language (ex. Javascript - until recently), now a developer could specialize in just one language and use it everywhere. That has the potential to completely change the development landscape and many development paradigms. And it's doing exactly that.
Then came Meteor ... and I was blown away by its potential.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Instead of having to learn a server-side-only programming language (ex. PHP) and a client-side-only language (ex. Javascript - until recently), now a developer could specialize in just one language and use it everywhere. That has the potential to completely change the development landscape and many development paradigms. And it's doing exactly that.
Then came Meteor ... and I was blown away by its potential.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
January 6, 2015
1 Great Thing in 2014: Docker
What a year! 2014 was my entry year in OSTraining and I couldn't be more pleased. To meet all the team and work with them daily has been really fun and instructive.
The year was full of interesting projects, and relaunching Alledia.com was undoubtedly the most entertaining one, at least for me.
Rebuilding Alledia.com allowed me to play with a wider range of technologies, which I really enjoy, such as Node.js, NoSQL databases and virtual machines.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
The year was full of interesting projects, and relaunching Alledia.com was undoubtedly the most entertaining one, at least for me.
Rebuilding Alledia.com allowed me to play with a wider range of technologies, which I really enjoy, such as Node.js, NoSQL databases and virtual machines.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
1 Great Thing in 2014: Wistia
Reflecting back on 2014 with OSTraining, my mind settles on the most important decision we made for the delivery of our online training; the move to Wistia.com for hosting our videos.
It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Wistia. From the ease of project management to the advanced statistics; from the easy API to their excellent customer service; from the excellent pricing to the streaming of every pixel, Wistia proves itself every day to be a great choice for delivering our training to you.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Wistia. From the ease of project management to the advanced statistics; from the easy API to their excellent customer service; from the excellent pricing to the streaming of every pixel, Wistia proves itself every day to be a great choice for delivering our training to you.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
1 Great Thing in 2014: Mobile is Eating the World
I listen to hundreds of podcasts every year, while I'm driving, running or working in the garden.
So, for this week's blog series called "1 Great Thing in 2014", I'm going to nominate my favorite podcast of the year.
"Mobile is Eating the World" is part of the podcast series from Andreessen Horowitz. It's so good that I probably listened to it 30 times or more.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]][image error]
So, for this week's blog series called "1 Great Thing in 2014", I'm going to nominate my favorite podcast of the year.
"Mobile is Eating the World" is part of the podcast series from Andreessen Horowitz. It's so good that I probably listened to it 30 times or more.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]][image error]
1 Great Thing in 2014: Joomla World Conference
Many things happened in 2014. The redesign of OSTraining, the rebirth of Alledia and my favorite event of the year hosted in my country: the Joomla World Conference in Cancún.
As I live in México I was lucky to be able to go to the most important Joomla event of the year. It was my best experience since I discovered this powerful CMS back in 2010.
From November 7 to 9, hundreds of people from around the world shared their passion for Joomla in session talks about coding, design, marketing and business. That meant a variety of topics for every kind of Joomla enthusiast.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]][image error]
As I live in México I was lucky to be able to go to the most important Joomla event of the year. It was my best experience since I discovered this powerful CMS back in 2010.
From November 7 to 9, hundreds of people from around the world shared their passion for Joomla in session talks about coding, design, marketing and business. That meant a variety of topics for every kind of Joomla enthusiast.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]][image error]
January 5, 2015
1 Great Thing in 2014: Joining OSTraining
I never could have guessed that when I moved from Colorado to Portland, Oregon, it would result in my joining the OSTraining team.
By happy circumstance, just as I was completely burning out as a freelance consultant and dropping all my clients, Steve and Rod came to Portland for a Drupal conference.
We met for dinner at a restaurant in my part of Portland and they offered to save me by making an offer I couldn't refuse.
2014 was my first full year working here, and I couldn't be happier. It's been such a privilege to work with this group of talented, smart and just plain nice people.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
By happy circumstance, just as I was completely burning out as a freelance consultant and dropping all my clients, Steve and Rod came to Portland for a Drupal conference.
We met for dinner at a restaurant in my part of Portland and they offered to save me by making an offer I couldn't refuse.
2014 was my first full year working here, and I couldn't be happier. It's been such a privilege to work with this group of talented, smart and just plain nice people.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
December 30, 2014
New Video Class: Joomla Video Hosting
Videos grab your attention.
Videos can teach people, videos can move people and they can even make kittens famous!
Where you host all your videos is an important decision and is a key part of your sucess.
In this class, Rod evaluates YouTube, Vimeo and Wistia as options for hosting your videos. Rod then reviews 3 plugins: OSYouTube, OSVimeo and OSWistia.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Videos can teach people, videos can move people and they can even make kittens famous!
Where you host all your videos is an important decision and is a key part of your sucess.
In this class, Rod evaluates YouTube, Vimeo and Wistia as options for hosting your videos. Rod then reviews 3 plugins: OSYouTube, OSVimeo and OSWistia.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Using the WordPress Debug Bar Plugin
It's Friday afternoon. 4:30pm. Suddenly your new email indicator lights up. A client you haven’t spoken to in months says:
"I've been getting reports that my site is running really slowly. Could you take a look?"
Ever been there? Ever spent a weekend reading through code you wrote, and then code you didn’t write, looking for what could possibly be slowing things down?
The Debug Bar plugin for WordPress can help developers analyze slow sites, as well as solving several other problems.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
"I've been getting reports that my site is running really slowly. Could you take a look?"
Ever been there? Ever spent a weekend reading through code you wrote, and then code you didn’t write, looking for what could possibly be slowing things down?
The Debug Bar plugin for WordPress can help developers analyze slow sites, as well as solving several other problems.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
December 29, 2014
Google Maps in Drupal with the GMap Module
Several times in the last few weeks, OSTraining students have asked us about maps in Drupal.
The students wanted to set up directories that would show Google maps for each location.
They also wanted to create larger maps that would display multiple locations at once.
We recommended that the students use the GMap module. However, although that module is powerful, it is poorly documented and can be confusing to use.
So, here's a beginners guide to the GMap module.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
The students wanted to set up directories that would show Google maps for each location.
They also wanted to create larger maps that would display multiple locations at once.
We recommended that the students use the GMap module. However, although that module is powerful, it is poorly documented and can be confusing to use.
So, here's a beginners guide to the GMap module.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://OSTraining.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
