Spacebug Open Source Initiative

AutoSnippet - automatically generate HTML and javascript code snippets

Amir Shevat — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:33:24 +0000

Code snippets posted online are a great source of knowledge and simple way to share experience and to reuse code. As developers we always look to see if there is a 'code example' which we can modify to our needs. As bloggers we find code snippets very useful to get our information out to the readers.

The problem is that creating these code snippets is a complex and cumbersome task. You need you replace all the < with &alt, wrap the code in <pre> and <code> tags and then use a Syntax Highlighter to make our code look nice. Every time we change or fix the code you need to reiterate this process.

AutoSnippet solves this problem by automatically generating the code snippet from the source code (HTML, CSS and Javascript). No more cumbersome repetitive tasks and no more inconsistencies between example and real code.

In this article I will show how to generate automatic snippets for your blog and source/code websites.

How to check where your site visitors come from using javascript

Amir Shevat — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:35:48 +0000

Where do my visitors come from? That is always a question bloggers, site owners and advertisers want to know. Knowing who has referred the visitor to my site tells you a lot about that visitor. This information might help you drive better, more finely tuned content to this user.

Demo

IPWEditor - In-Place WYSIWYG Editor with FCKeditor and JQuery Editable

admin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 05:35:07 +0000

An In-Place editor, such as jQuery Editable plug-in, lets you seamlessly replace texts on web pages with inputs, for on-the-spot editing (see example 1). WYSIWYG editors, such as FCKeditor, provide easy, word-like editor on the web (see example 2). Basically, the two are advanced User-Interface JavaScript tools that help users edit content on the web in an easy, intuitive and productive way.

Wouldn't it be great if we combine the two to create a really cool, web 2.0 user experience for editing content on the web? Unfortunately, FCKeditor and Editable are not fully compatible and some tweaking is required to make them interoperable.

In this article will demonstrate how, with little modification, FCKeditor can be integrated into Editable to create an In-Place WYSIWYG editor (see example3).

Real-life Relationships with Xbox

Amir Shevat — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 07:05:22 +0000

A human interaction system is made possible with Natal, a system developed for the Xbox 360.

Software As A Service Takes The “Free Beer” Out of Open Source

Amir Shevat — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:26:46 +0000

Free software means that computer users have the freedom to cooperate with whom they choose, and to control the software they use. To summarize this into a remark distinguishing libre (freedom) software from gratis (zero price) software, Richard Stallman said: "Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of 'free' as in 'free speech', not as in 'free beer'.₁

The reality is quite different from this philosophy. Up until now open source software was, for most people, free beer rather than free speech. Well, the beer party is over, and cooperate companies have a new business model strategy called SAAS.

Most Useful / Best Drupal Modules

Amir Shevat — Tue, 26 May 2009 07:00:39 +0000

I have recently upgraded my cats idol site to Drupal 6 and enhanced its functionality. I have also created several other sites (including this site) using the following set of useful Drupal modules.

Here is my list of useful (AKA Best IMHO) Drupal modules:

Apache Crashes on Windows – Check Your Ports

Amir Shevat — Wed, 20 May 2009 00:20:01 +0000

Apache is one of the most popular web servers in the market today. It usually runs on Linux-based machines but lately there are more and more deployments, for development as well as other reasons, of Apache on Windows. Nowadays, running Apache web server on Windows is very common for PHP developers. Many developers develop their PHP application on their home windows or Mac and deploy to a remote Linux server.

How to Get Free Open Source Photos for Your Website and Presentations

Amir Shevat — Tue, 12 May 2009 07:22:14 +0000

Visuals aids such as photos, are very important because they help you pass information and feelings, attract attention, maintain concentration, and help explain abstract concepts. Most professional presenters use photos and other images in their presentation. I personally find that the audience is better tuned when I present images than words. The problem is that most images cost money – most photographers want you to pay royalties for the images you use. Lucky enough, there are many images released under an open source license called creative commons

Save Money on Your Web Host with HostMate

Amir Shevat — Thu, 07 May 2009 03:20:53 +0000

The cost of common shared hosting starts at 3$-10$ per month. While this is a cost many can afford, there are many out there that find it hard to spend 120$/year. Well, in the past 4 years I have used the idea of hostMates very successfully, saving money and learning from my mates.
Please note: HostMate is an idea, best practice if you want. It is not a product or a service, although someone might want to provide this service.

Make money blogging by making blogging a part of your job description

Amir Shevat — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 07:00:10 +0000

I have been making money blogging. A lot of money blogging. In the last 5 years I have calculated that I have earned above 70,000 USD in blogging alone. And I have managed to do so very easily and without marketing or any other related costs. The money was guaranteed every month and I got free editing and proofing services.

Here is my simple secret.

I have made Blogging a part of my job description. In the last 5 years I have been working for an open source company with only 20 employees, and for the one of the biggest and most profitable hi-tech companies in the world, with more than 80,000 employees worldwide. And they both paid me to blog as part of my job.

And you can do it too: