Free Cool Tools: 2010

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Top 10 Trendsetting Music Blogs

We try to stay on the cutting edge of what music has to offer as well as cover the people and trends behind the music through our industry profiles.

Blogs dot com team has picked the Top 10 Trendsetting Music Blogs to help people find not only the best music being put out today, but also the acts that are likely to make it big tomorrow.

Top 10 Trendsetting Music Blogs

Aquarium Drunkard

Most music blogs don’t have corresponding record labels, but then again, most blogs aren’t like Aquarium Drunkard! This blog shares the same city with us here at LA Music Blog and covers everything you need to know about the indie music scene.

Brooklyn Vegan

While BrooklynVegan is mostly NYC-centric, it’s still a blog to follow no matter where you live. They have everything from metal to hip hop, and they know what to pay attention to at all times.

Buzzbands

Buzzbands is a staple of any LA music fan…or at least it should be! Kevin Bronson has an eye for live shows and an ear for what’s great in LA, and while he doesn’t always stick to LA bands, he does cover the great acts that come through town.

Invisible Oranges

This site covers everything metal, so if you love the heavy stuff and want to know the latest, follow these guys and you will never be left behind!

Kings of A&R

When compiling this list, Kings of A&R was the first blog that came to mind. I follow them on a regular basis to find new, up-and-coming acts to feature on our site, and they have an amazing track record of picking bands that get signed.

Pitchfork

Pitchfork was another easy one to add to this list. If an artist makes it on Pitchfork, they are going to get attention from everyone else…unless Pitchfork doesn’t like them, of course.

Rap Radar

For those of you looking for what is going on in rap and hip hop, this should be the site you follow. Rap Radar always has the inside scoop of who is working with whom and when new music will be released.

Stereogum

Stereogum might be more than a music site, but they have a very good eye and ear for what is great in a multi-genre format. They offer up-to-date news on the industry, the bands, and the people involved.

The Hype Machine

While The Hype Machine is more of a “Best of the Music Blogs” blog than a music news or review site in and of itself, it is a great way to get exposed to a variety of opinions on music in one convenient place.

The Lefsetz Letter

While Bob Lefsetz doesn’t blog in the traditional sense of the word, he is still one of the most outspoken and on-point bloggers in music today. I don’t always agree with him and some times he doesn’t focus on music, but if you want to know what’s happening in music today, sign up for his newsletter.

Friday, August 06, 2010

Important Features' Updates in Wordpress Version 3.0

Wordpress 3.0 Features:

Custom Post Types
Menu Management
Custom Taxonomies
New Default Theme: “Twentyten”
Multi-site

a. Custom Post Types

By default, WordPress lets you publish two types of content: "Posts" and "Pages". In version 3.0, you can define additional content types with their own attributes. For example, if you’re running a WordPress site for a design agency, you might create a custom post type to display portfolio items, another for employee pages, and another for client testimonials. From there, you can customize your theme to better suit each individual post type.

You might even want to turn your WordPress site into something more like Tumblr. This will be easy to do in WordPress 3.0 simply by creating custom post types for Text, Photo, Quote, Link, Chat, Audio, and Video.

b. Menu Management

Menu management is one of the most exciting and talked about features in WordPress 3.0. This feature gives you full control over your site’s navigation menus. With an easy drag and drop interface, users can create menus that include any mixture of links to internal pages, external URLs, categories, you name it. Then you can embed these custom menus as a widget wherever your theme allows.

c. Custom Taxonomies

While this new feature may seem a bit complex to non-developers, it certainly brings WordPress 3.0 closer to a true CMS. Custom taxonomies allow you to create additional pieces of meta information. By default, there are "Categories" and "Tags". Now we can add additional types, with the option of being hierarchical or not.

For example, if you are a film fanatic and you use your WordPress blog to post reviews and rate new movies. You can create a custom taxonomy for "Rating", etc.,.

d. New Default Theme: “Twentyten”

Twentyten is the long-overdue default theme packaged with new installations of WordPress 3.0. It features a clean, yet bold design and introduces some nice functionality not found in many themes. Two features built into Twentyten are particularly useful if you’re new to WordPress and don’t have the coding skills to customize your theme. They are:

Custom Header Image
Custom Background Image

e. Multi-site

You can’t discuss WordPress 3.0 without mentioning the new multi-site capabilities. That is, you can manage several different websites (with different domains and/or sub-domains) all with a single installation of WordPress. What was previously known as WordPress MU (Multi-User) is now merged with the core WordPress system in 3.0. Enabling multi-site capabilities likely isn’t something for the average user, as it requires some tinkering with the code and configuring server settings. That said, the average user likely isn’t interested in having multi-site capabilities.

For more information, please visit: http://mashable.com/2010/05/10/new-features-wordpress-3/

Monday, July 19, 2010

Important Forums for Web Developers

Monday, July 05, 2010

Release Notes on Mozilla Firefox 3.6.6

What's New in Firefox 3.6.6

Firefox 3.6.6 modifies the crash protection feature to increase the amount of time that plugins are allowed to be non-responsive before being terminated. Please see the complete list of changes in this version.

Extensions and Themes

Extensions installed under Firefox 3.5 may be incompatible and/or require updates to work with Firefox 3.6. Please report any issues to the maintainer of the extension. When you install Firefox 3.6 all of your Extensions and Themes will be disabled until Firefox 3.6 determines that either

they are compatible with the Firefox 3.5 release or
there are newer versions available that are compatible.

Troubleshooting

Poorly designed or incompatible extensions can cause problems with your browser, including make it crash, slow down page display, etc. Restart the browser in Safe Mode. On Windows, start using the "Safe Mode" shortcut created in your Start menu or by running firefox.exe -safe-mode.

When started in Safe Mode all extensions are disabled and the Default theme is used. Disable the Extension/Theme that is causing trouble and then start normally.

Click here to Download Firefox 3.6.6

Friday, June 25, 2010

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Google gets cosy with Adobe, brings built-in PDF support to Chrome browser

Google recently announced its plans to introduce an integrated PDF viewing experience to its Chrome web browser.

Following on from an earlier decision to integrate the Adobe Flash Player, Google hopes the addition of PDF support will allow users to enjoy a seamless web experience without the need for third-party software or plug-ins.

Using the new functionality - currently available only via a pre-final developer release - users will be able to render PDF files "as seamlessly as HTML web pages" from within the Chrome browser, says Google

Although PDF plug-ins themselves aren't entirely new, Google claims its own implementation will provide better compatibility, performance and security.

Built on the Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface (NPAPI), Google's PDF viewer will be contained in the same browser sandbox as web pages; ensuring crashes caused by bad PDF files or known exploits impact only the open tab.

In addition to mitigating the threat of high-level security risks, the Chrome browser will also deliver the latest version of Chrome's PDF support to users automatically..

Despite the early promise, however, Google warns that its integrated PDF reader does not yet support all of the advanced features found in Adobe Reader, and adds that rendering quality is "a work in progress".

Chrome's native PDF functionality will eventually be made available via a wider beta release, prior to a final stable release.

Source:

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=25184

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Look at New Releases of Wordpress Themes

AnimeStar
Features Demo Download

Summy
Features Demo Download

Perfecta
Features Demo Download

Lorem
Features Demo Download

Thanks: http://newwpthemes.com/

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Learn Adobe After High Quality Tutorial

For beginners
Introduction to Adobe After Effects | Andrew Kramer

Basic effects | Andrew Kramer
Learn to create some basic effects using After Effects.

Animation | Andrew Kramer
Now you can learn how to create an animation.

Trim Paths | Aharon Rabinowitz
Learn how to create simple trim paths.

Simple Reflection Techniques | Aharon Rabinowitz
Very simple but cool technique creating reflections.

Web 2.0 Glossy Text | Matt Evans
Learn to create a glossy text.

How to track motion in Adobe After Effects CS3 | cgsutra.com
This useful tutorial explains how to track motion in After Effects.

Boharg II Breakdown | David Madry
Learn to set different speed for your footage and also learn how to set a color correction.

Starting with After Effects | Pascal Verstegen
Great tutorial explaining how to transform work from Photoshop to simple animation using After Effects.

Rendering | Shoaib Khan
Learn about rendering your video.

For Intermediate Users
Creating 3D Cloud Motion From a Still Image | Aharon Rabinowitz
Very useful effect for cloud motion. It gives much more realistic feeling than just a moving image.