1. Tutorialseek

    I forgot to mention, I finished one of the four projects i had going on, more specifically TutorialSeek :)

    TutorialSeek is the “tutorials only” site for Pixel2life and is a very big preview of what’s to come for Pixel2life v2.

    The enhancements with this version are as following:

    • All new tab system navigation! Individual tabs lead you to the major sections of the site. We felt this would make the entire site MUCH easier to browse and use no matter what you are looking for.
    • Less images! The site uses WAY less images so it loads faster. Up to 4 times faster than the current pixel2life.com website!
    • Random tutorials! If you’re a webmaster that has old tutorials submitted to the index and you think no one is seeing them, you’ll love this new feature! Each category view now has 5 random tutorials displayed at the bottom of each page
    • BOOLEAN SEARCH! No more exact match folks!!!! We now use the full Boolean search method for search for your tutorials! That means more matches and better chances of finding exactly what you need much faster than before.
    • Multiple tutorial submissions! Have 10 tutorials you want to submit for one category? Well now you can submit all 10 in one swoop instead of doing it one at a time!
    • Not sure which tutorials require avatars when submitted? The new submission system has you covered with it’s required avatar system. If a tutorial category requires and avatar, the “No avatar” option is no longer displayed.
    • The ultimate Source Site Summary! Remember how the old webmaster page would only show the tutorials for a particular website for one category? Well now this extremely advanced tutorial source site summary page will display every tutorial for all categories AND give you valuable stats regarding your tutorials! Webmasters can now see at a glance how many tutorials they have in the system, how many are waiting for approval, how many are approved and in the queue, total categories they have tutorials in, total tutorial views, average difficulty, average rating, and total votes!
    • Over 30 bugs that were causing some listing related panics are now gone.
    • DOUBLE THE CATEGORIES! We’ve added TONS of new categories that have been requested to us over the last few months!
    • Smart category display! When you select a category from the listing on the left, the category and sub categories will automatically move to the top of the category list, so it’s easier for you to use the sub categories without having to scroll down each time!
    • New contact form that makes it easier to report issues and comments to the right people! By selecting the correct topic, the person responsible for that subject receives your email right away.
    • A new complete Sitemap! Lost? Click the sitemap for a complete listing of every link on the site. The listing automatically updates with any new Categories or Sub-Categories we add to the site.
    • All new approval system. When a tutorial is approved, it’s moved to the go live queue and a new tutorial is approved every 30 minutes. So your tutorial is guaranteed at least 5 hours on the main page once it’s released from the queue!
    • An all new dead link system that will allow us to correct dead link issues MUCH faster!
    • Detailed submission results! When you submit tutorials, the new output system will give you a detailed breakdown of your submission so you can easily correct errors when you submit.
    • Over 250 pages of code have been reduced to 60! Aside from the database, this entire site is a re-code from the ground up!

    So head on over to TutorialSeek right now!

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  2. Interview with Josh Pigford of Tutorial Outpost

    Jay: First, off, lets start by you introducing yourself, telling us your site and what it’s for, and what you do at that site :)
    Josh: My name is Josh Pigford. I designed, programmed, and currently own and operate Tutorial Outpost. It is a site containing a plethora of Photoshop, Flash, and 3D Studio Max tutorials from all over the web.

    Jay: How longs the site been running and how many visitors you average a month?
    Josh: The site has been fully functional since November 2003. It originally launched with just Photoshop tutorials but I quickly added Flash and 3D Studio Max tutorials. We average about 100,000 unique visitors per month and about 1.5 million page views.

    Jay: What first got you interested in running a tutorial listing site? Come on be honest.. There’s some kind of free prize involved..
    Josh: Well I’m pretty big into design (that’s my day job) and so I got tired of having to look all over the place to find tutorials for certain little things. I don’t really use tutorials much these days but they were a massive help for me when I got started. Photoshop tutorials aren’t near as hard to find as Flash and 3D Studio Max but I decided I wanted to have a well rounded site. Sort of a “one stop shop” for design tutorials. So I made this site. I also did it to help teach myself PHP.

    Jay: Cool, everyone’s got to start somewhere
    Josh: Indeed

    Jay: What do you do to insure tutorial outpost stands out from the crowd full of competition – and who would you rate as your best competition?
    Josh: Ah. Well, there are a few other large Photoshop tutorial sites. Good-Tutorials.com is definitely my biggest competitor as far as Photoshop tutorials go. He’s been around far longer than me so he’s got the edge there. But there aren’t too many Flash and 3DS Studio Max tutorial banks that are in direct competition. I just try to add tutorials as often as I can and stick with it. That’s one of the main reasons that sites fail. Their owners just drop the site because they get discouraged. If you want a successfully site you have to stick it out. It’s a slow process but it’s worth it.

    Jay: Definitely, it’s the reason Twod is so popular today

    Jay: Approximately how many tutorials you get submitted a day? And how many are really crappy ones, you know the kind you just read, reach for a pillow, put the pillow to your face and just scream when you see..?
    Josh: Depends. It’s actually pretty random. Some days I might get 30+ submitted and other days I might get like 5. And man do I get some crappy ones. That’s another way I’ve tried to beat out the competition is weeding out the really crappy ones. I don’t just add anything. It’s gotta be at least half decent. But I’d say 2 or 3 out of 10 are just horrible. But those never see the light of day on my site.

    Jay: Yeah there’s seems to be a lot of amateurs out there nowadays..
    Josh: I just get tired of people submitting the same tutorials over and over. All of those swirl effects are getting pretty old
    Jay: Things like pixel stretch and “how to draw a circle” get old pretty fast too..

    Jay: Describe what are the ideal features you look for in a tutorial
    Josh: Well, one thing that’s a huge plus for submitting tutorials is submitting ones to categories that aren’t as crowded as others. In categories like “Effects” I’m going to be a lot more strict about what tutorials I approve because it’s so overcrowded. Tutorials that are very descriptive and have lots of images are quality ones. Users need to see step-by-step how their piece should be coming along.

    Jay: What kind of things get a tutorial rejected? (Other than the previous pillow screaming thing i mentioned..)
    Josh: A few things. One is if the tutorial is already on the site and has nothing unique about it or doesn’t teach anything new. Another is if the tutorial is a direct copy of somebody else’s…stealing. I’ll ban your site for all eternity if I catch you stealing other people’s tutorials. And finally…like we’ve mentioned before, if it’s just plain bad. I’ve received plenty of tutorials that teach incorrect use of tools and show really nasty looking effects. You know… the type of tutorials that you’re actually dumber for reading. – heh, *hopes none of these are from Twod*

    Jay: You seem to like advertising your site.. What’s the best advertisement program you’ve found and why?
    Josh: Well, the site has seen many different forms of advertising. We’ve tried practically every size down from Text Links all the way up to Interstitials. I’ve been very happy with Tribal Fusion’s leader boards and skyscrapers, Fastclick’s pop-unders, and Casale Media’s leader boards. I’ve actually been pretty dissatisfied with Adsense and they are 2nd tier and in some cases my 3rd tier ad network.

    Jay: What can we see for future changes or future advancements in your site? Will their be monkeys in future versions?
    Josh: Yes…there will be large apes that punch you in the face every time you visit the site. In addition to abusive monkeys, there are probably 4 or 5 major features coming soon. I really can’t give you to many details because I want to keep them on the down-low until the ideas are fully developed. But basically the features will make the site MUCH more interactive. We’re also thinking of adding a new “Tutorial Outpost Original Tutorials” or something of the sort. Where we actually write some tutorials that will be hosted on our site.

    Haha…I just realised that the abbreviation for “Tutorial Outpost Original Tutorials” is “TOOT”…funny.
    Jay: TOOT TOOT!

    Ok a few questions not to do with the site :)

    Jay: What do you do in your spare time away from the site and how long have you been interested in computing/web development?
    Josh: I’m a full time Graphic Design major as well as a full time working man. I run a multimedia development company called Automatik Studios where I do a good bit of print work and web development. I started doing actual web design probably 6 or 7 years ago. I actually run numerous other websites. IndieRiot.com is a big site for indie musicians, artists, and filmmakers and it’s getting pretty large and then I run some other silly sites like ReallyFunArcade.com and ReallyDumbstuff.com. Those are just fun sites to play around with. Outside of the design/computer world I stay pretty busy with my fiancé (we’re getting married next July) and then planning my scheme for world domination.

    Jay: Are gonna smack bush out of office? or are you gonna make him leader of France and really give us English something to shout about?
    Josh: Probably not. I’m really not into politics too much. I love my country and as long as I can keep living in it I’m fine.

    Jay: How did you actually get into designing professionally and how long did it take to get where you are now?
    Josh: I started designing off by doing sites for friends of mine who were in bands as well as the band I was in. I’ve always been pretty obsessed with music and art and things of that nature so I do a good bit of work for bands. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to my work so I don’t do things half-way…you pay me to do work for you and you better believe you’re gonna get a good product. That sort of mentality is what I’m known for with my clients.

    Jay: What are your tricks of trade and if you could recommend 3 to a beginner, what would they be?
    Josh:

    1. Use Photoshop. It’s industry standard for a reason. Sure it costs a chunk of money but suck it up and buy it.
    2. Don’t design stuff for $1. If you’re good…charge accordingly. If you’re trying to build your portfolio up then do some work for pro-bono…but charging like $5 for a website is just insulting.
    3. Learn a programming language. My personal preference is PHP as it’s got a massive community of people who use it and it’s pretty easy to learn.

    Jay: Favourite Sites? … *Slips bribe*
    Josh: Obviously Twod! Then I visit these sites on an almost daily basis: SitePoint.com, K10K.net, Apple.com, Spoono.com, CNN.com, GigPosters.com and DeviantArt.com.

    Jay: Anything else to add before we end it? :)
    Josh: I’ll give you a few free nibbles of advice:

    1. Be dedicated and perfect your craft.
    2. Everybody won’t always like your work but as long as you’re confident that it’s good then you tell them to “Shut up.”
    3. Don’t be snobby, ask and accept creative criticism.

    Jay: Thanks for agreeing to the interview and good luck in the future with Tutorial Outpost and all the TOOTing :)

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  3. Earthquake Effect: Shake the browser using JavaScript

    Note: This post was imported from the very old Twod.co.uk post archives.

    This snippet of code will produce a JavaScript function which you can then attach via a JavaScript call and shake the user’s Internet browser.

    Place this anywhere before you’re going to call the function, or remove the surrounding <script> tags and place it within an external JavaScript file.

    <script type=”text/javascript”>
    function shake(n) {
    if (parent.moveBy) {
    for (i = 10; i > 0; i–) {
    for (j = n; j > 0; j–) {
    parent.moveBy(0,i);
    parent.moveBy(i,0);
    parent.moveBy(0,-i);
    parent.moveBy(-i,0);
    }
    }
    }
    }
    </script>

    An example of this function being called using the onclick method would look as follows:

    <input type=”button” onclick=”javascript:shake(200)” value=”Shake Me!” />

    This will produce (go ahead, click for an example of the effect):

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  4. The birth of Twod.co.uk

    This post marks the official start of my internet presence. Twod.co.uk was my original domain registered on the 1st of March 2003 and started my exploration of the internet through development and design.

    The original Twod.co.uk site featured a forum which grew to over 10,000 posts and 1,000 members in under twelve months. Interviews with industry figures who I admired and groups of articles covering topics like .htaccess, CSS, PHP, XHTML and even Photoshop.

    It was extremely enjoyable, but I’m afraid very few posts from that original site have made it into the dynamic archives of this site. I will however try to port across as many as possible when and if I can. If you have a request for a post that is lost – please let me know and I’ll try to get it back up for you.

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