Archive for For Geeks

IconFinder.net - A Web Designers Helpful little friend..

// June 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // Cool Links, Design, Design Resources, Facebook, For Geeks, Freeware, Geeks, Graphic Design, Graphics, I recommend, Icons, Rss Feed Icons, Social Network, Social Network Icons, Twitter, free, icon sets

Here’s a handy little site that I think is useful to add to your bookmarks if you are a web designer, it is called Iconfinder. It does exactly what it says…. finds the icon of your choice.

The site is simply designed and straight to the point, add your search query, click and wait for the results. All icons are licensed with either Creative Commons, GPL, or LGPL. Below is a screenshot for “home” icons.

So, if you like icons I’d recommend a visit!




11 Open Source (FREE) Photoshop Alternatives

// June 21st, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Apple, Applications, Design, Design Resources, Featured, For Geeks, Freeware, Geeks, Graphic Design, Graphics, I recommend, Photoshop, Software, Useful, Windows, art, free, web tools, webdesign, webmaster

I’ve been doing some research online tonight for a FREE alternative for Photoshop - my Photoshop installation recently became corrupt (no clue how but it might have something to do with the fact it was cracked..um yeh) Call me evil, I just call me poor.

Anyway, I can’t seem to completly uninstall Photoshop and so it won’t allow me to re-install it… and since Photoshop cost about USD $649 per copy... I’ll most likely be using an alternative until I can format my hard drive.

Anyway, I can not work with out some type of imaging software. Period. I’ll let you know which one I decide on.

11 Open Source (FREE) Photoshop Alternatives

Artweaver

Artweaver isn’t just a Photoshop alternative like GIMP, but a fair clone of Photoshop itself. While Artweaver lacks the polish and advanced feature sets of Photoshop, the menus are laid out like they are in Photoshop and the tools function close enough that use is intuitive. The programs are so similar, in fact, that seasoned Photoshop users will find themselves wondering why a feature is suddenly missing from the menu. While it isn’t a true replacement for Photoshop, Artweaver’s feature set is robust; it includes layer management, image cloning, a history function, transparency, pen tablet support, and a host of the common filters in Photoshop. Artweaver is available as a full install or in a portable version. Artweaver is a free download for Windows only.

Fotographix Beta 3

Fotografix is an amazing example of what creative developers can accomplish in less than one meg. The 680Kb portable application is a very capable image editor and provides nearly all the same functionality I utilize in Photoshop on a daily basis. It was a no-brainer to include in my list of 40 apps you can download in two seconds. Mirrored on Freeware Files.

GIMP

gimp.org

GIMP stands for “GNU image manipulation program”, and it is one of the oldest and most well known alternatives to Photoshop in existence. Although it doesn’t quite have all of them, you’ll find most of the features included in Photoshop somewhere in GIMP. GIMP is cross platform and supported by a large community.

If just having the feature set isn’t enough for you, there is an alternative based on GIMP known as GIMPShop. It’s the same as GIMP, except the layout has been structured as close to Photoshop as possible, so anyone making the transition should still feel right at home.

Inkscape

Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics editor similar to Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Freehand, or Xara X. What sets Inkscape apart is its use of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), an open XML-based W3C standard, as the native format.

Krita

Krita has been lauded for ease of use and won the Akademy Award for Best Application in 2006. Part of the Koffice suite for [Linux only] , Krita is slightly less powerful than both Photoshop and GIMP, but does contain some unique features. It has become very popular recently due to its ease of use. While it is not as feature-rich as the Photoshop, or even GIMP, it does contains the necessary tools to create/edit a professional image from scratch. In fact, the latest version contains some features that are not found in both GIMP and Photoshop.

ChocoFlop

ChocoFlop is a design application designed exclusively for [Mac only] , optimized for Mac architecture. It’s quick and fairly well featured. This program won’t always be free, but until a stable version is released (it’s currently in beta) they are allowing free use. The program works pretty well as is, and if you’re the type who doesn’t mind an occasional bug it’s certainly worth a look.

Picnik

Picnik is a web based photo editor that has recently taken off due to a partnership with Flickr. It has all the basic features plus a few advanced ones like layers and special effects. It is cross platform since you only need a browser.

Adobe Photoshop Express

Adobe actually has a free web based photo editor of their own. Adobe Photoshop Express has all the basic functionality you’d expect as well as a few advanced features (sadly though, no layers), and interfaces well with a number of photo sharing websites. Again, completely cross platform.

Paint.NET

Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins.

CinePaint 0.23

CinePaint is a deep paint image retouching tool that supports higher color fidelity than ordinary painting tools. One of the advantage that it has over GIMP is that it is able to support 32-bits image (GIMP only supports 8-bits image). Cinepaint is mainly used by developers in the flim industry for motion picture frame-by-frame retouching. The current version runs on Linux, BSD, Mac OSX. Stable version for Windows is not available at the moment.

PhotoPlus


PhotoPlus [Windows only] is the amazing photo editing software that enables you to fix and enhance digital photos, create stunning bitmap graphics and even web animations.

Links

There’s also free web services that allows you to perform basic image editing online.
Here’s few examples:




Hatched! Twitter Eggs - Free Twitter icon set

// June 20th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Blogging, Cool Links, Design, Design Resources, For Geeks, Graphic Design, Graphics, Icons, Social Network, Social Network Icons, Twitter, Useful, icon sets, webdesign, webmaster

twitter_egg2 twitter_egg5 twitter_egg1 twitter_egg3

These are so damn cute! Which came first the Twitter bird or the egg? Enhance your blog or site with these fun Twitter eggs. Available in PNG format in two sizes: 256 x 256 px and 128 x 128 px.




Another Great Affiliate that actually pays! $$ WPWebHost

// June 19th, 2009 // No Comments » // Affiliate Networking, Blogging, Cool Websites, Design Resources, Featured, For Geeks, Geeks, Hosting, I recommend, Wordpress, Wordpress Themes, webmaster

Another Great Affiliate that actually pays! WPWebHost.com I just signed up with them as an affiliate and added a banner to the bottom of my posts using the Shantz WordPress Prefix/Suffix Plugin which I also love by the way.

I earned 70.00 bucks with only 2 referrals and in no time at all.  If your like me when you first found out about affiliate marketing you thought “great I can just add links to my website and I’ll make money”. Well it’s really not that easy.

I’m very picky about the affiliates I add to my website. If I don’t believe in their product I’m not gonna bug my visitors with their ads. If it’s something I think my visitors would be interested in then I’ll sign up and add the banner.  Knowing full well that I’ll probably never see a dime… but I tend to have the “hey what the heck can’t hurt” kind of attitude when it comes to most affiliates.

However there have been only a few affiliates that I have made money off of and those few are The WP Remix Theme, Woo Themes and now WPWebHost! The cool thing about WPWebHost is you can create and track your own affiliate links! Which is not something most of the Wordpress theme affiliates allow you to do.

WPWebHost also offers tier linking which basically means you can make money from other affiliates who sign up under you.. and no that is not why I’m promoting them. I’m promoting them because I made money and money is is always fun to share! SIGN UP TODAY!
wpwebhost

Plus their client list is pretty impressive.. well if your familiar with some of the designers who blog that is..

WPWebHost Clients:

Design Shard is now Hosted with WPWebHost and its been a really great experience so far, support is fast at responding to questions about their hosting and about Wordpress, the features of there servers are better than what I was on at Godaddy! I would recommend them with confidence if your thinking of changing hosts.”
- Max Stanworth, Design Shard

Check out what they have to offer for only 5 bucks a month!!




My Freelance Suitcase - Useful tools for Freelancers

// June 15th, 2009 // No Comments » // Admin Tools, Blogging, Cool Links, Design, Design Resources, For Geeks, Geeks, I recommend, Ipod, free, web tools, webdesign, webmaster

I’ve recently started taking on some freelance jobs and really just learning more about what is involved in being a freelance designer. It’s been interesting to say the least. I’ve found some really useful tools online that I wanted to share with my readers. I know a lot of designers visit this site looking for themes and social networking icons so hopefully these tools will be useful to some of you.

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Web design build questions to ask (yourself) or new clients

// June 11th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Blogging, Code, Design, Design Resources, For Geeks, Geeks, Tutorial, Useful, webdesign, webmaster

Working Girl

If your a webmaster or web designer I highly recommend you read the rest of this post at www.simonday.com

This is a great resource for anyone who does freelance design or builds websites.

Web design build questions to ask (yourself) or new clients

What do you want the web site to do for your company?
(is it to just promote brand awareness and for people who hear about them and then go to their site, will people be finding them through search engines, is it existing clients looking for support or news, are you selling online, are you offering downloads, company reports etc)

Who is your target audience (age / level of internet experience etc)?
(Do they require a modern, fast paced, highly graphical site to target the younger generation or a more user friendly site for the less experienced or older internet users. )

What image do you want to portray (Professional / Casual / cutting edge etc)?
(Some sites use white space and limited text to give a relaxed feel while others use lots of images and text to give the site a busy feel. Define the feel of the site)

If you have branding what colours, fonts, styles do you use?
(See business cards, letterheads etc). More often that not the sole trader will have no graphics, no logo and no identity so in these cases you need to ask the client for colour schemes they think fit with the ideas but also do market research on the competition because the client may not be right.

CORE QUESTIONS:

What do you absolutely definitely want on the site?
(This list could include blog, shopping cart, members log in, private areas, RSS feeds. Gallery newsletter, contact forms, advertising space, different languages, search facility, etc)

What would you like if possible/within budget?

What absolutely must be on the homepage and what is the order of priority?
(This is a core question and you should allow the client time to ponder and discuss this with you. Their answers here should define the position of the building blocks. The answers could be phone number, email, help icon, downloads, cart total, core product links etc.)

What must be visible at all times?
(Every page has a fold. A fold is below the visual part of the page and requires you to scroll down to see it. I have a height I use but you should decide for yourself where it should be. The client must understand this and agree what can go above and below).

How many links will be needed and how many levels of navigation will there be?
(You need to understand the journey paths and decide how far down the link structure will go (level one, level two, level three etc)




Mini Social Networking Icon Set - komodomedia.com

// June 10th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogging, Design, Design Resources, Facebook, For Geeks, Graphic Design, Graphics, Icons, Rss Feed Icons, Social Network, Social Network Icons, Twitter, Useful, free, google, icon sets

This icon set consists of 30 (16×16) finely crafted social media icons. They are free to use non-commercially. Put them on your blog or on your website to help users bookmark or share your site socially. I hear its all-the-rage these days.
www.komodomedia.com


5 Social networking icons, brush sets and shapes!

// June 10th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogging, Design, Facebook, For Geeks, Graphic Design, Graphics, Icons, Photoshop, RSS Feeds, Rss Feed Icons, Social Network, Social Network Icons, Twitter, free, icon sets

New social networking icon sets & even a few social networking icon brush sets and shapes!

Tweet Tweet Cute Tweet: Another Free Twitter Bird Icon

Free Heart Social Networking Icon Set

Social Media Grungy Watercolor Brushes

Make your own grungy social networking icon set to
match your blog!

Free Social Networking Hand Drawn Photoshop Shapes

Free Set of Social Networking Coffee Stain Icons



“WHITE MAGIK” - Free Social Networking Icon Set

// May 31st, 2009 // Comments Off // Blogging, Cool Links, Design, Design Resources, Facebook, For Geeks, Freeware, Geeks, Graphic Design, Graphics, Icons, RSS Feeds, Rss Feed Icons, Social Network, Social Network Icons, Twitter, Useful, free, icon sets, web tools, webdesign, webmaster

“WHITE MAGIK” - Free Social Networking Icon Set

New set of icons “WHITE MAGIK” in .PNG format. But please link us back if you use it to chethstudios.blogspot.com.White Magik is perfect for white minimalistic sites and can be used with image hover for excellent looks!


So cute!




Make Money with Twitter - or so the story goes..

// May 28th, 2009 // No Comments » // Affiliate Networking, Blogging, For Geeks, Social Network, Twitter, webmaster

Chirp, chirp!

Magpie

I just found this site called MagPie. They embed their users ads into your Twitter posts. Not every single post .. you can actually approve which ads are posted and how often their posted. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.. I did sign up so we shall see.

You can sign up with Magpie as either a publisher (a Tweeter) or an Advertiser. I signed up as a Tweeter but I’m just checking it out.  I really only want to see how it works and if it’s worth it and then I’ll most likely shut it off and just stay with them as an affiliate.

One blogger claims she earned $1.53 a click and had 10 clicks in one week.

We’ll see how worth it is bugging my friends and followers.

MagPie Affiliate

Join the program for free!

You can use your earnings on Magpie as a publisher to place your own ads. Advertise your online shop, your web site, your blog — you name it.

Once your first tweet has aired, you can start using your credit for ads. Come back here, we’ll tell you how it works.

You can add a prefix to the front or end of your Magpie ads.

Use your MagPie affiliate link to earn a 30% commission of our transaction fees. Not just once, but for the whole first year this Advertiser buys campaigns on Magpie!

twittad.com

Another Twitter ad and affiliate program.

Listing Your Profile

  • You post your twitter account for advertisers to purchase
  • You select your duration & price
  • You wait for advertiser to purchase
  • You accept or deny the proposed ad within 48 hours of purchase
  • If you accept the ad the system will use the Twitter API to upload
    the ad to your Twitter profile
  • 1 promotional tweet is sent when the ad starts
  • 1  promotional tweet is sent when the ad ends


Selecting the Advertiser

  • You search through the available advertiser campaigns
  • You opt-in to an advertiser campaign


Earning Money

  • Earn money for every hour an ad is displayed on your profile
  • Once your earnings reach $30 you can request a payment to your paypal account
  • You can sell your background for 7 days, 15 days, 1 Month or 3 Months periods.

Its All Automatic - Sign Up For Free! Become an Affiliate!

whatsyourtweetworth.com

Find out what your Twitter profile is worth.

Enter your Twitter ID to get a feel for how valuable you are on Twitter. And be sure to sign up on Twittad.com where advertisers can purchase your Twitter background!

Mine was worth $37.50 Haha! No it’s not for sale. These sites are a trip. What has Twitter become?..it’s a big BIRD monster!

http://www.whatsyourtweetworth.com/




OIO Publisher - Let advertisers buy space on your site without lifting a finger - WP Plugin

// May 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Admin Tools, Blogging, Coupons, For Geeks, I recommend, Useful, Wordpress Plugins, Wordpress Themes, web tools, webmaster

Put your advertising income on autopilot.

OIO Publisher OIO Publisher is a very user-friendly and easy to use Wordpress plugin that lets advertisers buy space on your site without you having to lift a finger.  All you have to do is set the plugin up by setting the types of spaces you want to sell, for example, banners, text-links, or inline ads in each of your front page posts and setting the price for each.  You’ll also have to fill in a few other details, such as how long an advertiser can rent the space and your Paypal ID.  That’s basically it.  Now all you’ll have to do is click the “approve” button anytime someone submits their link / banner to the site.

This is basically the same concept as the publisher program , except, OIO Publisher has one major advantage… no middle-man.  Text-Link-Ads has this nasty habit of taking 50% of the money you earn for themselves, those greedy bastards…  With OIO Publisher, all the money that you earn goes directly into your Paypal account, it’s great.  ForTheLose.org has already sold two banner slots and one text-link slot.  If you want to advertise your site / product here, just check under “Advertise Here” on the sidebar to see what we have open.

Flexible

  • install OIOpublisher as a Wordpress plugin or a stand alone platform
  • sell all forms of text ads, banner ads, and paid reviews
  • custom purchases also allow you to sell digital products
  • display ads on any website you like using php or javascript
  • click and impression tracking, plus weekly ad reports emailed to advertisers
  • integrated marketplace helps you sell your ads

Customizable

  • break ads into zones, display ads easily over multiple sites
  • no empty spaces, show your own default ads until slots are purchased
  • convert website visitors to sales staff using the inbuilt affiliate program
  • developers can easily add more functionality using modules
  • use the ad manager on an unlimited number of sites (providing you own them)
  • submit an unlimited number of your sites to our ad marketplace
  • earn 50% commission on all sales of OIOpublisher, via our affiliate program

Where can I get it?

Even if you aren’t sure if you want the plugin, check out the homepage of it anyway for more info.  It does cost you a one-time payment of $47 for unlimited use of the plugin.  You can use it on all the sites you want.  BUT…and this is a big “but”… if you buy it now and use the coupon code “INDIGO-BLOGGER”, you get $10 off of the full price, meaning you only pay $37!  Trust me, OIO Publisher will pay for itself in just a few days..  I’m not sure when this coupon code expires, so even if you can’t use the OIO Publisher right now, get it anyway for the future before the coupon goes bad or even worse - if the price goes up.

To get $10 off this plugin (and buy it for only $37.00), use the following coupon code when purchasing: INDIGO-BLOGGER.

So what are you waiting for? Go use one of these coupons on OIO Publisher right now before they expire!


30 Tutorials On Converting A PSD To XHTML And CSS

// May 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Artists Shoutouts, Blogging, Cool Links, Cool Websites, Design, Design Resources, For Geeks, Geeks, Graphic Design, I recommend, The Best of.., Tutorial, Website Templates, web tools, webdesign, webmaster

30 of the best tutorials on web for converting A PSD to a XHTML & CSS layout. These tutorials you will learn the process on how to create a Photoshop web layout and be able to convert it into a valid XHTML & CSS web page. The tutorials are a step by step process which are easy to follow and keep up with.

Cool Design Links:




Dreamyicons - Free Profile Icons for Live Journal

// May 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Alice in Chains, Blogging, Design, For Geeks, Graphic Design, Graphics, Ibdreamy, Icons, Live Journal, Personal Pictures, Personal Posts, Pictures, Useful, free

When I started really getting into the whole online social thing it all began with Live Journal and a community I started called Dreamyicons. We held icon contests based on themes. Now the community is just members posting icons that they’ve created..no more contests. So you’ll notice a lot of the icons have themes and you’ll also notice a lot of adult themed icons. I love pin-up art so.. I hope your eyes are not offended by sexy chicks.

Today I dragged all those old icons out of the closet and dusted them off. It’s been a couple years now since I made any new icons. Your free to use them for your journals, websites, Myspace, Twitter profile or what have you.

DreamyIcons

                                                                                                                                                   
        

     




Cute & Bright Social Networking Icon Set

// May 24th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogging, Cool Links, Design, Design Resources, Desktop Icons, For Geeks, Graphic Design, Graphics, Icons, free, icon sets

Cute and bright free social networking icon set 

(more…)


Make Money with Wordpress Remix Theme Affiliate

// May 24th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Blogging, Cool Websites, For Geeks, Premium Wordpress Themes, Wordpress Themes, Wp Themes, webmaster

I’m always looking for ways to make extra money online because lets face it there’s money to be made! Wether it be by freelancing my web design skills or affiliate marketing or selling stuff on Ebay.. it can be done. Or so I’ve been told. Right? 

It’s taken my over a year to get half way to 100 bucks using Google adwords ads. Haha! Not a huge winner.

But.. In March I made something like $350 as an WP Remix Themes Affiliate . Shocking I know. My site was down most of April and half of May so I’ve only made 100 this month but I’m telling you that is a first for me.

I just wish I was WP Remix and not just their affiliate. Their theme is awesome so it’s not shocking that people are snatching them up.

I’ve made a few sales here and there selling other premium themes but nothing like this. So, if you have a design bog I recommend signing up as an affiliate and adding a banner to your site. You might make a few extra bucks.

Have you found anything online that’s brought you luck as far as making money with your site or otherwise? Share!! Please!

 

Check out these posts about Making Money Online:

Balkthis.com - Make Money Online

Problogger.net - Make Money Blogging

Bloggerunleashed.com - Make Money Online

Conversationmarketing.com - 5 Ways Your Blog Can Make Money

Dailyblogtips.com - 28 Ways to Make Money with Your Website