What I thought of the challenge
A lot of what was said in the daily challenges are great reminder. I know what I ought to do at the back of my mind but to actually put them into action requires reminding for my part. For example when I created my blog, it was an experiment. It’s coming to two years now and I still keep some blogging bad habits and the challenges helped me remind myself that I should do things differently to grow my blog. Another example, It didn’t occur to me to think of an elevator pitch until I started the challenge. I was concentrating more on the content rather than telling others about my blog.

Reading the exchanges of comments during the daily challenges also gave me a chance to learn from other bloggers and realize that I am not the only one in the blogsphere facing the problems growing my blog. There are others out there too asking the same questions and facing similar challenges.

For those of you who missed the challenge, here is a summary of what was covered in the 31 days.

For your information, this challenge is not for beginners in blogging. It is more beneficial for bloggers who already have a blog and have been blogging for awhile.

Day #1: 31 Day Challenge – Create an Elevator Pitch
Day #2: 31 Day Challenge – Write a List Post
Day #3: 31 Day Challenge – Promote a Blog Post
Day #4: 31 Day Challenge – Analyze a Successful Blog
Day #5: 31 Day Challenge – Email a Blog Reader
Day #6: 31 Day Challenge – Learn from These 10 Expert Bloggers
Day #7: 31 Day Challenge – Link Link Link
Day #8: 31 Day Challenge – Interlink Some Old Posts
Day #9: 31 Day Challenge – Promote Your Blog with Forums
Day #10: 31 Day Challenge – Set up ‘Alerts’ for Your Blog
Day #11: 31 Day Challenge – Come up with 10 Post Ideas
Day #12: 31 Day Challenge – Editorial Calendars
Day #13: 31 Day Challenge – Visit a Mall (yes, you heard me right)
Day #14: 31 Day Challenge – Update a Key Page or Post
Day #15: 31 Day Challenge – Find a Blog Buddy
Day #16: 31DBBB – Solve a Problem
Day #17: 31DBBB – First Time Reader Audit
Day #18: 31DBBB – Create a Sneeze Page for Your Blog
Day #19: 31 Day Challenge – Write an Opinion Post
Day #20: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog – Leave Comments on Other Blogs
Day #21: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog – Breathe Life into an Old Post
Day #22: 31DBBB – Make a Reader Famous!
Day #23: 31DBBB – Write a Call to Action
Day #24: 31DBBB – Read a Magazine and Improve Your Blog
Day #25: 31DBBB – Ask Your Readers a Question
Day #26: 31DBBB – Improve Someone Else’s Blog
Day #27: 31DBBB – Hunt for Dead Links
Day #28: 31DBBB – Write a Review Post
Day #29: 31DBBB – Develop a Plan to Build Your Readership
Day #30: 31DBBB – Analyze the Stats on Your Blog
Day #31: 31DBBB – Plan Your Next Steps

Link to 31DBBB: www.problogger.net

In Part 3 I will look at implementation of the extension and how to add Community Builder plug-ins and finally I will also showcase what I have done on my website with the Community Builder extension. All of this was done without a line of extra coding so Joomla enthusiasts can implement the Community Builder extension without having to be a coder.

The Community Builder extension

The Community Builder extension is the brainchild of the guys at www.joomlapolis.com. It extends the capability of Joomla’s membership module and transforms the Joomla CMS into a full-fledged membership and community site. If you are using Joomla CMS without the Community Builder extension and try to build a community website or portal, you will experience a lot of limitations.

What Community Builder provides
1. Better User Management module.
2. Ability to add additional user fields which is not possible using Joomla’s standard User Management module.
3. Ability to add and manage tabs.
4. Supports various plugins written for the Community Builder extension.
5. List management
6. Utility to synchronize the Joomla/Mambo User table with the Joomla/Mambo Community Builder User Table and perform a series of tests on the Community Builder database, user fields and user database.

Community Builder is not a free extension
For the goodies that Community Builder will bring to your Joomla website, there is a fee to pay to download, install and implement Community Builder. I paid something like 35 EUR for the download and if you want to obtain the documentation, you will have to pay more. They call it subscriptions. Here is the link www.joomlapolis.com

Installing Community Builder extension

Summary of Installation and Initial Setup Steps:
1. Install com_comprofiler component
2. Install mod_cblogin module
3. Install mod_comprofilerModerator module
4. Install mod_comprofilerOnline module
5. Enable CB Login, CB Workflows and CB Online modules
6. Select Name Style parameter from Community Builder Configuration and Save. Run Community Builder Synchronize Users tool.
7. Disable Joomla/Mambo login modules
8. Add new Public menu item to Community Builder component
9. Add new User List menu item
10. Run Load Sample Data tool (optional)
11. Adjust Community Builder and Joomla/Mambo CMS settings to allow registrations only through Community Builder
12. Done!

In this part I will cover step 1 through 4. The rest of the other steps will be covered in part 3.

1. Install com_comprofiler component
a) To install com_comprofiler.zip, click on Extensions > Install/Uninstall from the Joomla Administration menu.

c) Install – you can either upload the package (zip file) and install or copy the unzipped files to the tmp folder to install or install from a remote URL.

As the install file size is large, it will take time to install com_comprofiler.zip.

My suggestion is to unzip the file and ftp the files to the tmp directory and install it using the second option described above.

2. Install mod_cblogin module

a) To install mod_cblogin.zip, click on Extensions > Install/Uninstall from the Joomla Administration menu.

c) Install – you can either upload the package (zip file) and install or copy the unzipped files to the tmp folder to install or install from a remote URL.

IMPORTANT if you use the core Joomla or Mambo login module the users will become out of sync with community builder. I will show you in part 3 how to synchronize the users to avoid this problem from happening.

3. Install mod_comprofilerModerator module
a) Install mod_comprofilerModerator.zip as a module
b) This is an optional module and it is only needed if using moderator features but I suggest that you continue to install this in case you wish to use the moderator features in the future.

You install the mod_comprofilerModerator module exactly the same way as step 1 and step 2.

4. Install mod_comprofilerOnline module

a) Install mod_comprofilerOnline.zip as a module.
b) This is an optional module which displays list of online users. I suggest you proceed to install this module.

You install the mod_comprofilerOnline module exactly the same way as step 1, step 2 and step 3.

Summary of Part 2
In this part, I have written about the Community Builder extension, what it is and what it can do to enhance Joomla as a membership system. I have also covered the installation of Community Builder extension.

In part 3, I will go through step 5 through to step 12 and enabling Community Builder plugins.

If you missed Part 1, you can read it here – Getting Joomla excited!

I’ve been able to save hours of reading time by listening to audio books while I drive to work. This is made possible by hooking up my iPod Touch to a FM Transmitter and when tuned to an unused FM frequency, you can listen to your music or audio books through your car stereo system. This is not new technology but it was previously illegal in the United Kingdom to use a FM Transmitter in your car. Since the law changed, I finally got around to buying a FM Transmitter to use in my car.

There are many brands of FM Transmitter you can buy from high street shops or even online and the prices range from cheap to expensive. I bought mine from Amazon.co.uk and I decided on the Belkin iPod TuneBase FM Transmitter with ClearScan. I decided on Belkin with ClearScan because it allowed me to charge my iPod Touch while I listened to my audio books and ClearScan made it easy to tune the gadget.

What is ClearScan?

The ClearScan technology will automatically scan to find the best FM frequency and it eliminates the static. With ClearScan you can enjoy listening to music and audio books on your iPod static-free in your car. I know how annoying it can be to listen to your favourite music while you endure all the hissing static. ClearScan technology claimed to be best at auto scanning and deliver static-free music. I tried it and I agree with Belkin’s claim.

TuneBase presets.
Once you find a clear station, you can set it to one of two presets on the TuneBase. This is especially useful around your local area and areas that you frequent, because you can quickly return to these stations at the touch of a button.

Other plus points I like
1. The Belkin comes with a flexible steel-neck mount and a swivel cradle which allows you to position the iPod for optimal viewing and accessibility.
2. Supports various generations and types of iPod.
3. The TuneBase built-in PRO setting optimizes the audio and provides a volume boost for the best sound possible.
4. Large display on the from to tell you exactly what frequency the music is being broadcast.
5. Works a treat as an iPod charger which you can easily plug into your car cigarette lighter.
6. The TuneBase also has a line-out feature that lets you use it with car-stereo inputs or cassette adapters.

Any minus points?
Yes, only one…the price. It costs £40 from Amazon.co.uk but if you buy it from an Apple Store or any High Street shops, you could be forking out between £60 – £70.

Would I still recommend Belkin iPod TuneBase FM Transmitter with ClearScan to the readers?
It’s a definite Yes. If you look beyond the price, you will appreciate the technology. You get what you pay for and in the case of this gadget, you will not be disappointed.

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Here is an example to show you what the CollapsiblePanelExtender will do in your browser. The CollapsiblePanelExtender will allow you to expand the panel on an ASP.NET page to display its content by clicking the control. It will not do a server-side post back and the page does not refresh in the browser. Alternatively you can collapse or hide the content by clicking on the expanded control.

A collapse control

An expanded control

Here’s how we create it in ASP.NET

1. Add the Ajax ScriptManager and CollapsiblePanelExtender controls to the aspx page. You simply drag and drop the controls onto the aspx page in design mode.

Design mode view in the aspx page.

Code view in the aspx page

You will notice that the TargetControlID, CollapseControlID and ExpandControlID properties refer to Panel controls. That’s right, we have to add the Panel controls as we haven’t done that earlier. You add the Panel control the same way as you added the ScriptManager and CollapsiblePanelExtender.

Finally, we have to added the css. You will notice that the Panel controls that we added reference to a CssClass=CollapsePanelHeader and CssClass=CollapsePanel. Add the following at the top of the aspx page between the Head tags.

Next step:

Compile your aspx page in Visual Studio and then run the aspx page.

In C# programming you may come across instances where you have to compute numbers especially division of numbers which will return a NaN (Not a Number) or Infinity, when dividing by zero.

You can use two methods to check if a number is NaN of Infinity. The two methods are IsNaN and IsInfinity.

Here are the examples:

IsNaN

if (double.IsNaN(per))
{
per = 0.0;
}

IsInfinity

if (double.IsInfinity(per)) {
per = 100;
}

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What is even more awesome is you can use the TouchMic Handsfree Lapel Microphone with Voxie Recorder to record audio messages. Voxie Pro Recorder is available for download from the iTunes App Store for £1.19

Joomla came to mind as a CMS platform that I can install and try out. Although Joomla wasn’t my first choice. The hosting company I am with, Bluehost, provided multiple CMS installs that I could choose from and install was easy using Simple Scripts or Fantastico Deluxe.

Within minutes, I had installed Joomla 1.5.8 using Fantastico Deluxe. Once the installation was completed, I login to the Administration site and started putting the site together.

The beauty of using Joomla CMS is its vast availability of extensions and the community developing, supporting and building the product for its user base. Joomla’s extension directory has over 3,500 extensions which you can download, install and configure for it to appear on the front-end of your website.

Here are the extensions I downloaded and installed.

1. ccBoard Forum to add a discussion forum in the CMS
2. Event List to create and display a list of birthday reminders
3. Phoca Gallery to add a photo gallery and photo management on the front-end
4. yvComment to allow users to post article comments
5. JoomlaWorks Simple Image Rotator to display rotating pictures on the website
6. ShoutBox to add interactivity by allow users to post short messages/shouts on the home page
7. JoomlaWorks AllVideos plugin to embed online streaming videos inside the content items as well as video or audio content that resides either on the server or some remote server.
8. Finally, I added the Community Builder extension which extends the website user management systems and management of users.

Key features of Community Builder : extra fields in profile, enhanced registration workflows, user lists, connection paths between users, admin defined tabs and user profiles, image upload, front-end workflow management, integration with other components, like PMS, Newsletter, Forum, Galleries.

Just by configuring the extensions and tinkering with sections and categories to appear on the front-end menus, I put together a CMS website without having to add a single line of PHP coding. The power of Joomla is in its CMS framework and its vast resource of extensions. Now Joomla has got me all excited about creating more website.

Here is a screenshot of the family website using Joomla.

Next: More on Joomla’s Community Builder extension