The comfortable front-end side of modern operation systems is taken for granted by most users. But it was not always so cloudless, the developers underwent turbulent path of improving and modernizing.
Yes, today we’ll talk about graphical user interface (GUI) and its evolution. GUI is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with computers and hand-held devices preferring to use images rather than text.
There are a lot of windowing systems from different vendors, nevertheless their base elements are quite similar: window, icon, menu, pointing device (also abbreviated as WIMP). In the name of a user’s comfort GUI exploits the skeuomorphism idea of desktop metaphor: the computer monitor is showcased as the user’s desktop, where objects such as documents and folders of documents can be placed; a document can be opened into a window, which represents a paper copy of the document placed on the desktop. The “pointing device” for almost all of the GUI operation systems means a mouse, however the keyboard can also participate in controlling.
GUI replaced such type of interactive user interfaces for computers as command-line interface (CLI), which is totally text-oriented: you need to type special commands in order to issue some changes on the computer. But the precursors of the graphical interface appeared long before CLI went out of fashion. So, let’s start to check the stages of the GUI path through the history.
The first thing we can nearly call the graphical user interface forerunner is Sketchpad, a revolutionary computer program developed by Ivan Sutherland in 1963. The author was the first computer scientist who brought the concept of multi-panel windowing system and real-time graphic display into his program.
However, if we take into consideration more GUI-like early elaborations, the oN-Line System goes to the fore. The system was created by Doug Engelbart’s team within the confines of Augmentation of Human Intellect project at the Augmentation Research Center at SRI International. The NLS combined a mouse-driven cursor and multiple windows used to work on hypertext.
The oN-Line System can evoke even more interest, if knowing it resulted into the first GUI, developed by Xerox PARC with the help of people from SRI in 1973. So now we should move to the next paragraph.
Nothing can compare to infographics when we need to present large amount of complicated information in simple digestible manner. From ancient times people communicated with the help of graphic symbols. Present technologies made a huge leap since then, but pictures still rock! Visualizing bulky content, infographics make it easier to explain our viewpoints, concepts and ideas to the audience. They save us a lot of time during learning as well. The secret lies in the process of how our brain perceives and processes information. Illustrative images immediately grab our attention as they stand out against the plain text, that’s why such efficient mixture lets us study the content more efficiently and keep it in our mind longer. We can call infographics a good alternative to traditional methods of information rendering.
The points of our today’s interest are marketing infographics. It’s an undeniable fact that apt marketing strategy is able to place your website on top of the rating list and vice versa. Marketing issues may seem confusing and ambiguous, which makes them a perfect subject for infographics. Surely, not each and every infographic is able to enrich your skills. But the ones below are really worth viewing as they combine professional outstanding design with in-depth theme research. So, here they are – the best marketing infographics of 2012. We are sure that they will clarify a lot of embarrassing marketing points for you.
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Its Majesty Internet may open really estimable pearls (that’s why I compassionate people of the pre-internet era). The most interesting thing is those information gems are so different that representatives of diverse strata have a chance to find something nutty exactly for themselves.
So, today I’d like to present a pearl that, to my opinion, would inspire web-design and other artistic people. Say hello to Mayeul Akpovi and his notable works. Mayeul was born in Benin, now he lives in Besançon, France.
Mr. Akrovi is a Motion Time-lapse Photographer, a short Filmmaker and a Corporate video producer. Not sure what a Timelapse is? Well, I wasn’t as well, but Mayeul prudently explained the meaning of the term on his website: “My work is focused on the capture of time and space as accelerated video while adding an artistic and sometimes cinematography touch. This process is called «Time-lapse»”.
Anyway, it’s just a cold definition: to realize the whole picture of this type of art you should check Mayeul’s compositions, which are concentrated on urban life.
Today the popularity of communicating product value through animated videos has made businesses realize their potential in convincing their audience. Not only do they convince a potential customer, but also help in launching a product, giving a demonstration and building a brand.
Image Source: Filmstrip, 3D by Shutterstock
Animated videos also help businesses by giving them a strong online visibility. Being of different kinds they are able to take care of a business’ different communication requirements. Let’s see the kinds of animation that a business can take advantage of:
1. 2D animation: This animation technique brings out the illusion of movement of drawings or objects to its viewers. Such illusion is achieved with the help of animation software, where images are sequenced in progression and are then shown at a rapid movement.
2. 3D animation: This makes use of computer generated images to give a three dimensional view to its viewers. It involves creation of 3D modeling of objects and their surroundings which are then given a 3D effect. They succeed in creating an atmosphere of virtual reality in front of their audience. Read More
After checking out the post about top WordPress events in winter 2013 I decided to complement the topic and to cover the winter events of another platform – this time Joomla fans should be satisfied.
The name Joomla is phonetically identical to the word “Jumla”, which is translated from Swahili language as “altogether”. So it’s not surprising Joomla team makes the organizing of the different type events a regular practice – as for me, the meaning undoubtedly intimates. Above that, such occasions bring a great chance to rest from working routine; however, the rest is not going far away from job moments: the visitors get acquainted better with the IT community, share their ideas with each other.
Interested? No problem, let me present you some top Joomla events in winter 2013 that will take place in different parts of the world.
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Joomla! Day Melbourne 2013
Date: Thu. 17 Jan, 2013 8:00 am – Tue. 22 Jan, 2013 8:00 am (Fri. 18 Jan, 2013 1:00 am – Wed. 23 Jan, 2013 1:00 am EST)
Duration: 5 Days
Location: Swinburne University, Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, Vic, Australia
Website URL: http://melbourne.joomladay.org.au
Image Source: Melbourne Skyline Looking by Shutterstock
I believe this Australian conference will be the most notable Joomla event this season. In any case it will be the most long-lasting one – the organizers announced the conference will take 5 days.
Do you feel the spirit of Christmas hovering in the transparent frosty air? Santa Claus is whipping up his reindeer cause he is very busy tonight. Millions of kids are waiting for their Christmas presents. Their stockings are hanging over the fireplace; they should be filled with sweets and presents till morning. Green Christmas trees, symbolizing the life, are standing in each house. Their rich ornamentation creates a special atmosphere of holiday. Glowing garlands are hanging everywhere; their light is so warm and welcoming that even night darkness backs away. Carols are heard on every step. They fill our souls with happiness and reverence before the most heartwarming holiday of the year. We all celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ!
Christmas is a wonderful time to be with the family, exchange presents, go to the church and just have fun! Holiday feast is also an important part of celebration. Stuffed turkey or goose, meat, gravy, potatoes, vegetables, and certainly Christmas pudding, mince pies and fruit cake will delight our friends and relatives at the holiday table. You can hardly find a single person not spanned with the Christmas mood, it seems as if the whole world with all its inhabitants has become better at once. It’s time to join the general revelry!
We wish you a Merry Christmas! Believe in wonders and maybe the one will happen to you tonight!
Christmas is a great time for multiple purchases and considerable savings. Get to know how you can claim your discount on Web templates and eCommerce templates buying them in a bulk from TemplateMonster. Hurry up! The promo is valid until December 31, 2012. All you need to do is just activate the promo clicking the relevant button on a special page and pick out several templates you like. Your discount may reach up to 40%! Can you miss that?
We have already got used to the diversity of gadgets flooding the handheld devices market. jQuery Mobile is a touch-optimized software framework developed by jQuery project team compatible with the majority of popular smartphones and tablets. It also fits mobile app frameworks and platforms like PhoneGap, Worklight and others as well as main desktop browsers, including iOS, Android, Blackberry, WebOS, Symbian, Windows Phone 7, etc. If jQuery syntax is you strong point, you won’t need any extensive research to work with jQuery Mobile, built on the bases of jQuery core. The framework is lightweight which positively affects the operation speed. The same underlying codebase automatically scales to any screen. Due to the HTML5-driven configuration you can start developing web pages with minimal script application. UI widgets are touch-friendly and platform-agnostic. Theming framework lets you create custom themes. To cut a long story short, jQuery Mobile gives you greater possibilities and more control over the application building process.
To make your web development experience more thrilling and efficient, we offer a collection of free awesome jQuery Mobile tutorials to study. We hope they will spur your creativity and help you find simpler ways of doing complicated things.
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Regular newsletter sending is an inevitable part of marketing strategy for many companies. The method is inexpensive; e-mails immediately get to the addressee and may bring quick results, provided that all crucial points were met. Actually, newsletter design complies with general web design principles and is created using similar tools and technologies; however, the difference surely exists.
Testing a newsletter before sending is highly important; otherwise your efforts may turn to be a waste of time. Smart merchants test their newsletters in two stages, firstly for its marketing efficiency and then its technical side. There is plenty of testing software, you can install on your computer or use online, still main steps stay the same, so let’s highlight them one-by-one.
First of all, make sure that all essential elements are present in your newsletter design. Here follows their short list:
1. Read your subject line, it should be informative, short and recognizable otherwise the customer may simply ignore your e-mail.
2. Your newsletter should look attractive and encouraging for further reading even in minimal preview size.
3. Some e-mail clients like Outlook, Lotus Notes, and Hotmail don’t display images by default, so check your design without images, is it still worth opening? As a kind of alternative, you may include a link leading to the externally-hosted html version of the email. This way, subscriber will have the possibility to view your content despite the method of viewing and broken elements.
4. Stick to relatively narrow newsletter designs; remember that customers often view their e-mails in partial screen mode.
5. Your e-mails should contain permission reminder, people respond marketing information better when they know that they have subscribed to it themselves.
6. When the addressee knows and trusts the sender, he/she is more likely to open the e-mail. So sender’s details should be clearly stated.
7. Unsubscribe link is also a must-have for commercial e-mails as it saves your efforts and recipient’s nerves. If the person is not interested in your propositions, he/she will throw your e-mail into the bin anyway.
It’s difficult to deny the fact that our life is constant learning. Technologies go ahead with the velocity of light and some professions require constant skills refreshment to be in demand expert. This especially regards programming related specialties, as the field is aimed to simplify the life of community working with computers, which members are not necessarily office workers, cause we all know that almost all industrial processes are controlled by machine intelligence now-a-days.
Frankly speaking, it’s rather difficult for adult working person, having his/her family responsibilities, to enter college or university and attend classes on regular bases to get some advanced training. Major constraining factors are time and money. Even if your passion for learning is able to overcome them, there is one more important issue. We often sacrifice our dream educational institution for the one located in our city, within the convenient reach.
Looking back to everything stated above, online courses seem much more attractive, especially when they are free. Their benefits are obvious, but surely the option works well only for purposeful, persistent students, knowing exactly what result they want to reach, with rigid self-discipline and burning desire. So, if you recognize yourself in this portrait, let’s consider some main benefits of online studying.
1. First of all you are not limited with the choice of educational institution and can choose among the leading world universities.
2. Such courses are frequently absolutely free, so you get the desired advanced knowledge saving your budget.
3. You can watch the lectures, take quizzes and cope with assignments according to your own schedule, when you have free time.
4. You study together with a group of peers having similar goals and yearnings and can discuss complicated matters, help and encourage each other.
5. If you pass all assignments successfully you can even get a certificate confirming the fact.
This entry is not aimed to convince all skeptics that online education can replace the regular one. It is impossible and even dangerous to study some sciences online, as they are connected with huge risk for human life, like medicine, for instance. Here we speak only about rather short-term courses related to programming, which can really give satisfactory results. Their usability is very high, which is extremely important for busy people, having an urgent need or just a desire to raise the level of their skills.
Below we offer you a list of free online courses highlighting various aspects of programming, which will surely teach you something new. Be up-to-date, keep your mind flexible, and this will directly affect your salary.
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