esn studio

If you are seeing Out of Service message when you go to Digg.com, it is probably because they are pushing their redesign live. I got a glimpse of the new design this morning when trying to access the site.

Looks like new features such as Videos and Podcasts will be introduced soon too.

[Edit] Digg.com is now back online, but still with the old design. [/Edit]

[Edit2] The new and improved Digg is now live. [/Edit2]

Technorati Tags: digg, digg.com, design, redesign

Saw the above screenshot on Worse Than Failure: Curious Perversions in Information Technology website, and I found it so hilarious that I couldn’t resist the urge to post it up here.

That’s right; every “dynamic-looking” page was, in fact, static. It was going to be a long maintenance contract…

Source: When the Query String Is Just Not Enough

A while ago, I wrote a post about my eZ Publish extensions for Flickr and YouTube. I have been meaning to upload them onto official eZ publish repository but didn’t really get to doing it until I received a comment a few days ago which reads, “I’m exactly looking for these extensions. I couldn’t find anything on ez.no. Is it possible to download them or get from you in any way?”

Therefore, may I present you:

• Flickr tag search and
• Youtube tag search

Flickr tag search
This extension uses Flickr API to talk to Flickr database. Basically, you pass a keyword/tag you’d like to search to the template operator and it will return a list of photos. It provide a template operator and you can call it from any template after the extension is enabled.

Usage:

{flickr_tag_search($api_key,$tag,$per_page)}

@param string $api_key your unique api key provided by Flickr
@param string $tag keyword that you wish to search for, eg: dream
@param integer $per_page the total number of results to return eg: 10

Youtube tag search
This extension uses YouTube API to talk to YouTube database. Basically, you pass a keyword/tag you’d like to search to the template operator and it will return a list of matching videos. It provides a template operator which you can call from any template after the extension is enabled.

Usage:
{youtube_tag_search($dev_id,$tag,$per_page)}

@param string $dev_id your unique developer ID provided by YouTube
@param string $tag keyword that you wish to search for, eg: dream
@param integer $per_page the total number of results to return eg: 10

Special thanks to Kristof Coomans at eZ Publish for creating an account for me and Pommes for asking about the extensions.

I am sure you have heard of all the hype about the fastest growing social networking site, Facebook. Facebook has become very popular, so much so it even creates new jobs in IT & T industry. How do I know, I hear you ask. Have a look at this job ad on CrunchBoard - Facebook Application Developers. Companies are looking for skilled Facebook application developers who will help them build popular Facebook apps. According to the job ad, you will need the following skills to be considered:

* PHP development experience with PostgreSQL.
* Strong background in SQL, JavaScript, XML & XSL.
* Strong knowledge of the PHP5 Object model.
* Working knowledge of XHTML & CSS.
* Facebook API REST-based interface experience.
* Facebook Query Language (FQL) experience.
* Facebook Markup Language (FBML) experience.
* Effective communications skills to interface with non-technical staff to gather requirements.
* Excellent debugging and optimization experience.

I did a search on some popular job search engines in Australia (seek.com.au, careerone.com.au and mycareer.com.au) for the keyword “facebook” but no relevant result was found. On the other hand, there seems to be more Facebook related job in North America, and the States; employers are looking for Web API and Widget Developer, Facebook Application Developer, Software Developer for Facebook Applications and etc.

I think it is safe to say that Facebook is quickly becoming a development platform with its own markup and query language called Facebook Markup Language (FBML) and Facebook Query Language (FQL).

So maybe it’s time for us developers to start digging into Facebook application development if we haven’t already?

Technorati Tags: facebook, developers, jobs, career, trends

ShopWiki, as the name suggests, is a shopping guide which is en-powered by user generated content. But wait, there is more — it is also a shopping search engine which searches through 180,000 stores and 220 million products. The search engine allows you to refine your search result easily using tools such as price scrollbar, color, brand selections and so on.

I was in the hunt for an iPod or an MP3 player, so I had a look at the Personal Audio and Video section. The information provided is quite comprehensive, and it helped me to learn more about the products that I was thinking of buying. For example, they have buying tips for MP3 Player which tells you what to look for. And I think it is very helpful because the more knowledge you have of the product, the better decision you could make.

Another good thing about ShopWiki is that most content on the site is user generated content, and therefore, you can assume that the information provided is not for the benefit of advertisers but for users. And if you are a registered member, you can contribute towards the ShopWiki Community by editing the existing wikis / buying guides or even creating a new guide. There are also over 500 user submitted video reviews of many products available on the site.

While ShopWiki is not a retailer and does not sell any products, it helps you find the product you are looking for via the search engine and also gives you comprehensive information about the product via wiki buying guides.

Now, help me decide if I should go for a Nano or a Shuffle.

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