On pro, it’s all about statistics. QR codes a more valuable when you know how many visitors it delivers to your website. You could create a landing page where the code is linking to, and track the statistics from there, but if you don’t have the know-how, or you like things to be as effortless as possible, this might be the easy solution for you.

The QR codes can be exported as images (jpg) or as PDF files, so they can be printed or imported in your own projects.

Before going live, there’s still a lot of work to do. For instance, the complete user authentication module still has to be written. Also the way the statistics are presented to the end-user isn’t optimal now. As of now, only the daily and monthly hits are visible. Browser type and location have to be added.

Below some screenshots:

The generator is very basic at the moment, and just does what it should do. I’m planning to enhance the website in the future with some nice functions, so make sure you’ll bookmark it.

Visit the website

The last year I’ve been working on my Luna project, lately I’ve been looking at the code I wrote for this application and I think it has to be better. As I don’t feel much for cleaning up the code of the current project I decided to start all over again, and doing it the right way at once. A few weeks ago I started developing the user interface. It’s better to start with the UI rather than with the back end coding as you know what functions the application is using and you’ll otherwise keep adjusting the UI anytime an idea for a new function pops into your head. The UI has to be build in a certain way that any application added to the webtop by either myself or another developer fits right in. The webtop should be expendable with applications and services without cluttering up the interface.

At the moment there’s only the CSS and Javascript to show the draggable windows, a startmenu and the desktop. Its UI is inspired by Windows XP (so I can show it to any potential customer without having to explain the whole concept of webtops, and just because I like it). Because this XP look is obviously copyrighted by Microsoft I won’t be able to sell the product the way it is now. In the future more themes will be added to the webtop and made visible by changing the stylesheet.

I will continue creating the UI, and when that’s ready I’ll start coding the User and Access Management in PHP, as well as all the other applications.

The BIOS on the netbook was an old version, with known problems that after fully discharging, the battery no longer holds a charge. This can be fixed easily by updating the BIOS to version 3309 or higher. The updating process is windows based, so even if you’re not a geek you’ll be able to fix the problem yourself.

Use a seperate computer or your netbook to download the latest version of the BIOS here. Select your netbook, which is mentioned as AOA150 and download the BIOS by clicking on the BIOS tab. Extract the .zip file you just downloaded (or copy it to an USB memory stick if you downloaded it on another computer, and transfer it to your netbook).

There are two ways of updating the BIOS. I only tried one -in my opinion the easiest way to do it-, running a windows program that updates the BIOS for you. If you choose to do it that way too, double click on the file ‘insydeflash.exe’.

A little program, like shown above, will pop up. Click ‘start’ to initiate the update. When the update is finished your netbook will reboot and should be able to charge its battery again.

You can try the demo of version 1 here, and the demo of version 2 here.

If you’d like to use the source for your own project, feel free to download it.

• Version 1
• Version 2

Update: Visit CreateQR.com to see it in action and generate your own QR codes or download the WordPress plugin.

Now I’m using Netcounter, a free Android application that does just one thing: giving an overview of the traffic you’ve used today, last 7 days, this month and in total. You can also export/import the collected data to and from the SD-card of the handset, and you can set an alarm if you exceed your limit.

If you are encountering the same problem, download Netcounter in the Market by scanning the QR-code below.

I use a lot of Google services including Gmail and Calendar. And however it is possible to synchronize these with the iPhone or Windows Mobile, I think for seamless integration, I should use a Google powered phone as well. I also love the application market, to let me download hundreds of handy applications for my phone, just like on the iPhone.

As a web developer, I’m interested in programming applications, so I decided to check out the Android SDK. The Android applications are written in Java, and I have not worked with that language before. It’s all new to me so it might take a while before I’ve build my first application, but there’s a lot of documentation available. It’s a nice challenge to get to know this environment.

One of the features on this phone is the possibility to scan QR-codes and let the phone execute an action depending on the content of the code. Visiting a website, searching for a product, starting a call, or sending an email are just a few examples of its possibilities. Here in the Netherlands its not very popular yet, but with more and more phones being able to scan bar codes and having wireless Internet I think it’s just a matter of time before everyone’s using it.

The good thing is, that everybody can make it’s own QR-codes very easily. I found a simple generator to do the job. Try it here.

Scan this QR-code with your phone, and see what happens.

When you have enough programming skills to write your own code, and you know how to make it secure, I think you should write the code yourself, as you have a lot more influence in the way the system is build and it will fit better into your application. But, when you are new to programming, it’s a good idea to start with the code of someone else. Unfortunately many of these free user management systems on the Internet are insecure and poorly written, so it’s recommended not to use just any code you can find on the Internet.

But now there is UserCake, a good example of a PHP user management system, which is easy to implement in your application and comes with support for usergroups, account activation, email templates, and SHA1 hash for security.

The only requirements for UserCake are PHP5 and MySQL.

I did some exploring on this fact lately, because I was busy building my own Web OS. Actually I stepped off the idea of a Web OS, but now I’m focusing on using these kind of interfaces for my web based applications, like a CMS.

During these explorations I found some interesting projects, available to be used as the graphical user interface of your applications.

qWikiOffice
An open source project to provide an easy an user friendly web experience. It is based on Ajax and the EXT-JS library and can be extended with applications. The project is still under development, but the developer release is very promising.

jQuery Desktop
The name says it all. Another desktop alike user interface, but this one is based on jQuery.

MochaUI
This is one of my personal favorites and I’m currently using it for one of my projects. It offers a wide range of user interfaces and comes standard with lots of features like file trees, panels and windows. It is based on Mootools, and very easy to implement in one of your current projects, or to use as a basis for a new project.

Yellowbird is a great way of recording events and concerts or any other occasion, as it makes you feel like you were really there. See what’s possible with Yellowbird with this demo:

Using your IP address, the video player determines in which country you are living. This means we should get an IP address in the US and we can do that using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). When you use a VPN to browse the Internet, the websites you visit (like NBC.com) will see another IP address, so in this case we need an IP address in the US.

It is necessary to use a VPN with a fast connection, as we are going to watch video streams. There a lots of free VPN solutions, but it’s hard to find some with enough speed and a reliable connection. I recommend using Hotspot Shield. It’s easy to install and use and I didn’t have any trouble with playing video streams.

After installing and activating Hotspot Shield, just visit one of the following websites to watch the full episodes:

• NBC
• CBS video
• FOX
• ABC

There are hundreds of free patterns available on the internet to use for your projects, but if you use these, there is a slight chance that they don’t suffice your needs because you didn’t design them yourself. With BGpatterns you can easily create your own patterns by selecting an image, scaling it and selecting the colors. Besides the possibility of designing a pattern yourself, you can also choose a pattern from other users. When you are satisfied about the result, it provides you a download link for the image so you can upload it to your server and use it in your project.

It’s easy to implement such a background with CSS, like the code below:

html,body {
background-image: url(images/your_pattern.jpg) top repeat fixed;
}

Joomla automatically adds the Mootools code to the header of the template, which conflicts with the jQuery code I added myself. The Thickbox script didn’t work at all so I had to find a solution. After a quick Google search I found a lot of forum posts, where other designers had the same problem. Unfortunately none of the forums offered a quick solution. I tried to disable the Mootools code in Joomla’s behavior.php, but this is a site-wide change and also affects the Adminstration. It seems that Mootools is necessary for Joomla to run, at least for the Administration of the website.

Later I found the solution and it is quite easy. Just add the following code to the head section of your template’s index.php, and the Mootools code will be removed:

<?php
// Remove auto generated mootool from header
$headerstuff = $this->getHeadData();
reset($headerstuff['scripts']);
$moo = key($headerstuff['scripts']);
unset($headerstuff['scripts'][$moo]);
$this->setHeadData($headerstuff);
?>
<jdoc:include type="head">

After a search on the Internet, I discovered Windows Live Sync, another service from Microsoft. It basically synchronizes all files in one or more folders between any number of PC’s which have the software is installed. You need to install the free software on the PC’s you want to synchronize, and to login with your Windows Live ID (if you are using hotmail or msn, you already have one) to select the concerning folders. Setting the whole thing up doesn’t take longer than 5 minutes and is very easy to do. Everytime one of your computer connects to the Internet it will upload the new and edited files, and when your other computer connects, it will update the folder with the files.

The project I’m currently working on is called ‘Luna’ and is far from finished. It contains the basics, like a PHP login system and user management with user groups, which, for example, makes the system configuration only accessible for administrators. Some modules are working now but not yet fully functional. I’ve implemented a file manager to create folders and upload files which can be downloaded anywhere at anytime. When a new user is created by an administrator the script automatically creates a personal folder for the file uploads.

Using the Google Maps API, I’ve created a module where you can create personal markers on a map. The location and description of these markers are saved in a MySQL database. I’m planning to link this with the contacts module, where users can store contact details.

There’s still a lot of work to do and features to add, like a feed reader and a calendar which can’t be missing. It might also be cool to add some social networking tools in the future so you can update your twitter status from within the Web OS. I don’t really have a goal with creating this application, but I think turning it into a CMS is a good idea. Because it looks like a standard operating system, with the draggable windows, it might feel more comfortable to my customers to work with it as they are already familiar with the look and feel of the application.

It seems that some of the major browsers render the page different, mainly when it comes to CSS. Everytime a new browser will be released I’m hoping it won’t break the layout of my websites (which mostly are coded in conformity with the current standards).

Another point which is important to me, is that IE gradually slows down my laptop, it’s using to many of my systems resources when it’s running. Not that my laptop is very high end, but running with 1 GB of RAM, it should be able to run IE without causing enormous delays on nearly anything I do. In comparison to IE, Firefox is running smoothly, and doesn’t cause any trouble.

IE8 is an improvement when it comes to rendering my sites correctly, I’m not a expert on this, but all the sites I tested, were shown correctly. Browsers are tested with the Acid2 test, which has a successor now, the Acid3 test. IE8 has recently passed the Acid2 test.

The problem with having multiple browsers available to use (especially the IE browsers) is the extra work it costs to make your websites working properly in all the different browsers. According to my blog’s visitor statistics, nearly 20% of all my visitors are still using IE6. Currently most browsers support transparent PNG’s, but IE6 doesn’t, so I had to apply a little hack: SuperSleight.

It would be a lot easier for all web developers if every browser rendered the websites exactly the same. And as long as that is not going to happen, I’ll stick to Firefox.

All the customers are forced to move their domains and websites to another hosting company, and you have two options. Lycos customers can ‘easily’ transfer their websites to Strato, a hosting company recommended by Lycos, offering an easy transfer solution. Or, you can choose another hosting company which you like better.

I visited the website of Strato Hosting, and checked out their pricelist. It looked good, and I decided to choose Strato as my new host. Unfortunately the only way to send the forms necessary for transfering .nl domains to Strato, was by fax. And that’s a problem, I don’t have a fax. I called the sales department to ask if their was any other way to send them the forms, but getting them on the phone wasn’t as easy as promised on their contact page. I waited for 50 minutes before I could finally ask my question. The Strato guy seemed to be very nice, but he couldn’t help me. His advice was that I had to go to a friend or a post office to send them the forms. No thanks.

I went to another hosting company, and 2 of my .nl domains were transferred in 24 hours. It wasn’t that easy for my .com domains. There seems to be an AUTH-ID, which is necessary to transfer a domain from a hosting company to another. Lycos refuses to send this ID to my new web host, so my domains cannot be transferred. I sent an email to the Lycos customer service four days ago, but I haven’t received a reply yet. It seems that they want to force their customers to go to Strato.

Update: After two weeks Lycos finally sent me my authorization ID.

In this small tutorial I’ll explain how you can create a custom archive page for your WordPress blog. The best way to start is to look for a file called: “page.php” in your theme directory (assuming you already have a WordPress theme, whether its downloaded or you’ve made it yourself). Once you’ve found that file, simply copy it and give the new file an identical name.

At the beginning of the file, paste the following piece of code:

<?php
/*
Template Name: Archives
*/
?>

You can obviously change the template name to whatever you like, as long as you remember what the page template was made for. As there are thousands of free and premium WordPress themes available on the Internet, you’ll understand that they’re not all the same. Try to find the “WordPress Loop” within the file, and delete the following code (or a code that looks like it):

<?php the_content(”); ?>

At the place where you found that code, you can now start coding your custom archives. You’ve got to put your code in here, because the original page content from your WordPress database was loaded at this place. To make sure you don’t break the theme and your custom page template looks the same as the rest of the pages on your blog, and everything is displayed properly (with the header, sidebar, footer, etc).

Now put the following code in here to show a list of months:

<h1>Monthly Archives</h1>
<ul><?php wp_get_archives(‘type=monthly&show_post_count=1′) ?></ul>

If you only want to show one category, place this code instead (change the number ’100′ to the ID of the category you’d like to show):

<ul><?php wp_get_archives(‘type=monthly&cat=100′); ?></ul>

Now you’ve added a monthly archives list, you may want to add a list showing your blog’s categories. To do this, easily add the code shown below:

<h1>Categories</h1>
<ul><?php wp_list_cats(‘sort_column=name&optioncount=1′) ?></ul>

After you’ve added the codes shown above to the template file, save it and upload it to your theme directory. Now create a new page via the WordPress admin and look for an option that says something like “templates”. You should see your template in the dropdown menu. Select your template and publish the page.

I’ve compiled a list of some interesting websites offering tutorials and code snippets, which I used to learn PHP in the past.

1. PHP Builder - Offering articles about the different features of PHP, as well as a code library with free to use code snippets for your own website and applications.

2. PHP.net – The official website of the PHP programming language. They offer a complete documentation of PHP, downloads of the latest PHP version, and news.

3. The Basics – Learn the very basics of the language, from loops and arrays to sending email messages with PHP.

4. Pixel2life – Offers some more extensive guides, with tutorials about shopping carts, file uploads, security and more. You can also find tutorials on lots of other platforms like Flash, Photoshop and 3D rendering.

5. WeberDev – 2800+ tutorials and code examples for PHP. You can find information here for almost any aspect of PHP coding, including beginner guides.

6. PHP at W3C Schools – A reference guide for some of the most common functions of PHP. They also offer a guide for setting up a MySQL connection and updating your database.

7. PHP Freaks – Useful PHP tutorials and a forum where you can ask questions to other members of the community.

8. Devshed – 400+ more advanced tutorials on PHP, MySQL and lots of other programming languages. Their website Scripts.com offers 1000+ scripts, to use in your website and to build upon.

9. Planet PHP – The latest news aggregated from PHP related blogs, keeping you up to date with new versions, security flaws, etc.

10. Hotscripts – 15000+ PHP scripts. Most of the scripts are free, but there are also paid scripts available on this website. There are lots of other languages available for download as well, like ASP, Ajax and Javascript.

Vintage movie poster effect

Old collage effect poster

Retro grunge poster

Sin City style poster

Artistic poster with hand drawn elements

Blended photo poster

The Bourne blurr poster

Scarface movie poster (and more)

War movie poster effect

60′s Psychedelic Style Concert Poster

Create an .htaccess file, with the following code in it:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://(.*\.)?campodiez.com [NC]
RewriteRule \.(jpeg|jpg|gif|png)$ http://example.org/bad.jpg [NC,R,L]

As you see in the third line of the code, I’ve added a domain. Replace this domain with one you’d like to allow hotlinking. If want to allow more domains, simply copy this line of code and paste it above the last line. You can change the filetypes you want to affect in the last line. You can also add extensions like .mp3 or .zip.

Replace ‘http://example.org/bad.jpg’ with the image you want to show when someone visits a hot linked image. Remember that this shouldn’t be on your own server, as you will create an endless loop.

After you’ve made your changes to the file, upload it to the directory where you store your images. It’s as simple as that!

Here are some resources:

• Stop image theft
• WordPress Plugin to block hotlinking
• How to prevent and stop hotlinking

Thanks to Blamcast.net for the original .htaccess file.

1. WordPress SEO plugins – If you are using WordPress for your blog, you can use the plugins listed on this website to improve your rankings in Google. This website offers some of the best SEO plugins available for WordPress.

2. 50 directories with good pagerank -  Let’s say it simple: Your Google page rank is calculated on the number of links to your website, and the pagerank of the websites linking to you. Websites with a high pagerank will show up higher in the search results. On this website you’ll find a list with directories with a high pagerank where you can submit your blog or website.

3. SEO tools on SEO chat -  Offers a comprehensive list of tools for improving your pagerank. You can use over 20 free SEO tools to retrieve more information about your website, it’s current rankings and backlinks. There are also some Adsense tools included.

4. Advanced use of Google Analytics – One of the most complete traffic analysis tools at the web is Google Analytics. You’ll be surprised about the amount of information it generates for you. This page explains how to use the advanced possibilities of this tool.

5. Google webmaster tools – To get your page higher in the Google search results it’s important to submit your sitemap to Google. You can use the Google webmaster tools to do this. It also shows a lot of information about your website and pages.

6. Best SEO tips and Tricks – This website offers 5 easy steps to improve the search engine rankings for people who use WordPress as their blogging platform. From permalinks to titles and images, they give you some simple tips with a great result.

Whether you are living in America, Europe or another continent, you are able to watch TV channels from other countries for free. There are also websites offering TV shows which you can watch on their website, so if you are a Family Guy or Prison Break fan and you’ve missed an episode, here’s how you can still watch it.

1. Peekvid – On this website you can watch hundreds of episodes of the most popular TV shows of today. Offering shows like Lost, Prison Break, The apprentice and Allo Allo. Unfortunately this website is showing a lot of popup-windows, but that’s obviously needed to remain a free service.

2. My Easy TV -  This website offers live TV streams from all over the world, including the Netherlands, America, the United Kingdom and a lot more. I’ve watched some of the TV streams, and overall the quality is pretty good. Not all of the TV streams are working, but most of them do work.

3. wwiTV – Actually this website is pretty the same as the one listed above, but in my opinion this one is better. They both are offering the same list of channels, which contains over 1000 channels listed by country or language.

4. FreeTV Online – Contains a huge list to online streams of TV shows and live channels online.

5. Streamick – Offering links to all major TV channels in the world like BBC, NBC, Sky News and MTV. I really recommend you to visit this website.

6. TV-video – Great website to watch TV shows like Prison Break, Grey’s Anatomy and Family Guy online. This website looks very good and won’t overload you with popup-windows and advertisements. The list of episodes by show is very complete, as it contains almost every episode of the seasons they offer.

You can also check out these websites, with lists of places where you can watch TV online:

• Digital Alchemy – 10 ways to watch TV Online With your PC
• Mashable – 33 Ways to watch free TV online
• Cucirca – 13 Places to watch TV online for free