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Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Google Sites API v1 2 Page Templates and Web Address Mappings

Today we’re releasing Google Sites API, version 1.2, which includes two top requested new features:

Web address mappings

Web address mappings are now programmatically accessible in the API using a new parameter on the site feed: with-mappings=true. If you’re not familar with this feature in Google Sites, web address mappings enable users to point their own domains to a Google Site. For example, you can map the address http://www.mydomainsite.com to http://sites.google.com/a/domain.com/mysite. They’re a great way to fully customize a site.

See our help center article for more information on web address mappings.

Page templates

A few months ago we launched site templates in the API, but there was no way to use page templates or access them programmatically. With the new page templates API, you can create templates as well as instantiate new pages from existing templates.

As an example usage, this Java snippet creates a new filecabinetpage from an existing template filecabinet:

FileCabinetPageEntry templateInstanceEntry = new FileCabinetPageEntry();
templateInstanceEntry.setTitle(
    new PlainTextConstruct("File cabinet template instance"));
templateInstanceEntry.addLink(new Link(SitesLink.Rel.TEMPLATE, 
    Link.Type.ATOM,
    existingTemplateEntry.getSelfLink().getHref()));

String feedUrl = "https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/siteName";
FileCabinetPageEntry fileCabFromTemplate = client.insert(
    new URL(feedUrl), templateInstanceEntry);

Check out the documentation, updated Java guide, and changelog for further information.

Bug fixes in this release: 1903, 1762

Posted by Eric Bidelman , Google Sites API Team

Internet Archive Browse 85 Billion Web Pages

URL: http://www.archive.org/index.php

"The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library, with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format..."

Juicy Learning Repositories (or web collections) within the Internet Archive worth exploring (In short, ALL!):

The Wayback Machine - Browse through 85 Billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago. This project is designed to create a unique global snapshot of the Web and to help improve and demonstrate the scalability of the Heritrix web crawler.
Open Educational Resources - This library contains hundreds of free courses, video lectures, and supplemental materials from universities in the United States and China.
Software - This collection includes a broad range of software related materials including shareware, freeware, video news releases about software titles, speed runs of actual software game play, previews and promos for software games, high-score and skill replays of various game genres, and the art of filmmaking with real-time computer game engines.
Moving Images - This library contains thousands of digital movies which range from classic full-length films, to daily alternative news broadcasts, to videos of every genre uploaded by Archive users.
Audio - This library contains over a hundred thousand free digital recordings ranging from alternative news programming, to Grateful Dead concerts, to Old Time Radio shows, to book and poetry readings, to original music uploaded by our users.
Texts - This collection is open to the community for the contribution of any type of text, many licensed using Creative Commons licenses.

I am even more amazed that it has taken me this long to find such an amazing learning repository (Founded in 1996). Actually, I discovered it through the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation site, which Clayton R. Wright had recommended me to visit. It is amazing what we can find if we are a bit curious :)

Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design

Link to article (By Jakob Nielsen)
"The ten most egregious offenses against users. Web design disasters and HTML horrors are legion, though many usability atrocities are less common than they used to be. This article presents the highlights: the very worst mistakes of Web design.

Bad Search
PDF Files for Online Reading
Not Changing the Color of Visited Links
Non-Scannable Text
Fixed Font Size
Page Titles With Low Search Engine Visibility
Anything That Looks Like an Advertisement
Violating Design Conventions: Have Consistency! Jakobs Law of the Web User Experience states that "users spend most of their time on other websites." This means that they form their expectations for your site based on whats commonly done on most other site. If you deviate, your site will be harder to use and users will leave.
Opening New Browser Windows
Not Answering Users Questions"

If you want to know more, I recommend that you read this short but very interesting, direct, and humoristic (cool cartoonish pictures) article by Jakob Nielsen a famous web design usability guru. Thumbs Up (Except for his website, ironically )!

Crash Course Social Media Web 2 0 for Learning

Social Media & Web 2.0 for Learning Website

(Still Under Construction)

Social Media & Web 2.0 for Learning (2nd Edition)

View more presentations from Zaid Alsagoff

WELCOME!

Welcome to this ’Crash Course’ (still under construction) to get you started with social media and web 2.0 for learning and teaching. Today there are thousands of exciting learning tools to explore, but sadly most teachers do not have the time to explore all, or figure out which ones to use.

This presentation and site provides all the resources shared during the Social Media & Web 2.0 for Learning workshop (I facilitate), which focuses on several of the most essential learning tools that we can use to facilitate learning and build an effective personal learning environment and network.

Site (Workshop) Contents

RSS & Curation
Blogging
Twitter
Facebook
Wikis
OER/OCW
Other Tools

WORKSHOP?

Although, the presentation slides are pretty much done, the website will be under construction for the next few weeks. I will first be facilitating this workshop online (1/2 day) to a group in Saudi Arabia next week (20th February, one of the pre-workshops for the 2nd International Conference - E-Learning & Distance Learning, Riyadh), and then again I will be facilitating a similar workshop (face-to-face) in March at the AMEA 2011 Conference (another pre-workshop), and after that who knows where (if anywhere!)...

So, to make it a bit more interesting this time, I have decided to share the workshop (presentation slides, resources and site) with all of you, and then hopefully get some constructive feedback, so that I can improve further.

Still early days, but with a bit of work this workshop could evolve into something quite special, which could benefit people beyond those just participating. Isnt that what Social Media and Web 2.0 is all about?

Reaching out and making a positive difference beyond the brick walls of a class, hall and building?

What do you think?

Web Template Free PSD

Type : PSD
Category : Web Templates
License : Free
Author : Dribbble

Download

Why Are Custom Web Designs No Longer In Trend

There has been an overwhelming importance given to custom web designs off-late. Even if a company got its website developed by the de facto best web designers in town, eventually, they want the “custom” power in their hands. The ability to make changes on the fly, as and when they want, is what has driven these companies to get a greater control over how they wish to tailor the design even after it has been delivered to them in a manner most furnished. Now, this has led to many designers creating a design or a theme that leaves a lot of scope for customization, and in the process, it also leaves a lot to be desired

But all said and done, the trend is reversing and more and more brands are beginning to realize that what they need is surety of a design rather than something that needs to be altered every once in a while. Lets look at a few reasons why custom web design is no longer as desirable as it was a year ago:

Also Read: A Guide to Several Programming Languages Available for Web Development

Design has a Worth

When we bring “custom” to web design, we give the power of creating something to the general customer. Now, this also hints that the customer has a more clear-eyed idea of how a web design should look like than a professional designer does, and thats a fallacy that can bring a design down to its feet. When we are designing something for a client, they would arguably want something that can have a control over, without realizing that they plan to tinker around with a design that was fulled by individuals who have invested years in gaining experience and expertise in web design.

Now, to avert a scenario where your client dismantles a piece of design you delivered to them (which can end up being a blotch on your portfolio), it serves you well to get rid of “custom” altogether and make designs that are most ideally designed and dont need to be tinkered around with.

Users are Least Bothered if the Site is Custom or Not

What a suite of clients fail to realize that the website created by the designers is eventually a pitch for the end-users, and not for the client. The users want a website that gives them access to all the information they want to gather, even visual appeal of the website doesnt matter to them much.

The Navigation and Quality of Content the Site Matters, Not How “Spellbinding” it Looks

All they need is a website thats easy to navigate, and contains content that is informative and at the same time, written creatively enough to intrigue them. If your users have to struggle looking for the categories or menu on the site, you have already started on a wobbly note.

The Templates Available Today are Richer in Functionality and Form

There was indeed a time when the readymade themes and templates looked pretty uninspiring. However, thanks to websites like themeforest.com, the scenario has transformed by leas and bounds. Today, we have access to readymade themes that are visually inspiring, compatible with different browsers and devices, responsive, fast-loading, hand-coded, and most importantly of all, very economical.

Its Hard to Sell Something Which Doesnt Exist as Yet

Instead of showing a blank template to your client, with an intent to tempt them with the possibility of how they have a complete canvas in front of them to try out, it would serve you much better if you put on display an example of what their website might look like.

Also Read: 5 Facile Yet Incredibly Valuable Ways to Enhance ASP.NET Developer’s Efficiency

The Cost Saving Factor

Custom designs prove to be a major hole in the pocket for companies as opposed to fixed templates. Also, they take a lot of time to get completed due to the changes back and forth. You need to rewire the whole design, keep modifying the SEO and mobile-friendly capabilities (which can be made perfect on the first go if “custom” is not a constraint, installing fluff features using the unnecessary plugins, etc.

Conclusion

Custom web designs have their share of incentives, but they have more to do with the frills and the fluff which is only needed in much smaller doses. So, whether you are a web designing service provider or a company looking for one, its time to hand over the reins in the hands of web designers who know how add exclusivity to your designs and click your website into top gear.

Author Bio:
Sarah Parker is a blogger cum WordPress developer at Designs2HTML Ltd, a leading markup conversion services company that has delivered top-grade markup conversion services since 5 years. She loves writing information-rich blogs on PSD to WordPress conversion services.

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