So, I stumbled upon a read that allowed me to view the new google. I have a feeling that its been around a while but, I thought it was interesting to see some of the new search features they are going to include. Im assuming only if this version makes it to final release. I am going to talk about a couple of the features that I like, but first let me show you how to access it.

1. Go to Google
2. Once you see the Google logo, insert the following code in your URL bar and hit enter

javascript:void(document.cookie=”PREF=ID=20b6e4c2f44943bb:
U=4bf292d46faad806:TM=1249677602:LM=1257919388:S=odm0Ys-53ZueXfZG;path=/; domain=.google.com”);

So now you have accessed the new Google search. Lets do a quick overview.

Basically, it is Google. You still get a sense that you are browsing with the old version. The results basically are the same although there seems to be a difference in the font used to display the results. One cool feature is that you can do a keyword search and then sift through the results based on what you want to see, on the fly.

Most of this stuff was easily accessible through the old version but I think they did a good job in highlighting the different sections to view results. Color coding always makes for a quick identifier.

My favorite feature is that you can sift through your results based on the time it was indexed. It seems as though this may allow you to rank higher than some of the larger sites on some recent search results.

Anyways, I just thought it was cool to tap into this beta version of google and mess around with it. Hope you can do the same, enjoy!

I work for a marketing company that has a lot of back-end php developers and lets face it, these guys & girls are serious. Thats all they do, code all day. Me being a web designer, I only focus on front-end coding like css / html but also work in Photoshop, so I’m not always coding. But as I walk around the office they all had some pretty sweet looking code with neon colors and what not. I was like a kid in a candy store, I needed it!

I got back to my desk and started Googling, and let me tell you, it was tough finding an easy solution. I knew that I could go into my preferences and change each specific type of code color myself, but I knew that would take forever and I needed it right then. Eventually, I came across a site that provided an XML file that I could replace in my default Dreamweaver files, restart and it was good to go. Luckily it was the color scheme I wanted. I’ll share the file with you guys as well as the steps to install it. Enjoy!

The following steps are for installing on a Mac although I would assume the installation on a PC would be similar. Please be sure to backup your old file, we are not responsible for anything that happens to your application.

1. Quit Dreamweaver and download the file here.
2. Navigate to Application Support > Dreamweaver CS4 > en_US > Configuration > CodeColoring
3. Inisde of this file is a Colors.xml file, rename this to Colors-old.xml so you have a backup
4. Paste the downloaded Colors.xml into this folder
5. Open Dreamweaver and go to Preferences > Code Coloring and set your background to #242424

Man, I am happy to announce that I have finished my first custom WordPress theme – Cloud Nineteen. It was a task but I used the Rockstar WordPress book and followed their instructions. It seemed to go smooth but I ran into a couple of problems. Overall, I am happy with the outcome and I hope it helps Braille and S1 reach their goals.

If you don’t have the book already I highly recommend that you pick up the How to be a Rockstar WordPress Designer PDF book. It has a step by step tutorial on how to implement a basic design into WordPress. You need to know a bit of code to accomplish this but for the most part is was very simple.

Anyone have any WordPress guides or sites that they use to help build custom WordPress sites? Let me know!

Update with link is coming once official launch date is announced.

1. In-line CSS is probably the best way to describe it. It is where the CSS is written like this:

2. Dreamweaver CSS is the only other way I know to describe it. CSS looks like this:

My question is which one do you prefer to look at or program with? Does it really make a difference? Is one easier to do than the other?

1. Lorem Ipsum

I think this is a site that most designers are familiar with. It allows dummy content to take place of actual content before it can be provided. I would say at least 95% of my clients come to me without any type of content but they want to get started right away. Well that’s when I roll on over to the Lorem Ipsum site and snatch a couple paragraphs, lists, etc and drop it in to the design. Its also beneficial because the client doesn’t get to focus on the content. They can solely focus on the the design.

2. Colour Lovers

Color palettes are extremely important. They can really make or break a site design. If you are mixing the wrong colors together it can look real cheesy real quick. I have rarely grabbed an exact color palette from this site but I do you use it to sometimes find a base color to start with. Most of the times colors can be grabbed from photos or base color can be chosen from a clients logo. I would recommend this site for some real good inspiration.

3. The FWA

I would think most designers have at least one site that they use to see what other people are designing. Whether it be a blog, a gallery or maybe a portfolio site of someone you really admire. I have been using FWA for a long time and have gotten a lot of great ideas from the sites that they feature. They really do a good job of posting sites that are cutting edge rather than just posting everything they find. If you have never been there you should definitely check it out.

4. psd Tuts

One thing that has really helped me boost my skills as a designer are Tutorial sites. Now, there are tons of these sites out there but one that I have been visiting lately is psd Tuts. They really have a great community over there and commit themselves to posting some solid content. Designers definitely have to continue to push themselves if they want to get better or else you just kinda stay umm… stagnate. I have met so many people that tend to just settle for the same old thing and their work definitely shows it. Whether you do that through a tutorial site or you do it through experimentation, that’s up to you. psd Tuts is a good place to start if you are looking.

5. Google

Everyone uses Google but not everyone uses all of the applications that Google has created. One component that’s is a great asset to any website is the Google Analytics application. You can see basically any type of stat for your website, keywords used to find your site, what browser was used to view your site, geographical locations of your visitors and the list goes on and on. But one thing that you can do with this information is use it to modify your site accordingly. You can better optimize your site for search engines, you can modify design elements that may cause visitors to leave once visiting and much more. If you don’t use it currently on your site you should definitely check it out.

What are some of your most used sites?