Polymath Workshop http://polymathworkshop.com We make software and websites. Fri, 18 May 2012 16:50:37 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 WebAppl: A web design with an iOS app flavor for PC, tablet, and mobile. http://polymathworkshop.com/webappl/ http://polymathworkshop.com/webappl/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 17:27:01 +0000 jay http://polymathworkshop.com/?p=200 ]]> WebAppl is a slim, responsive, HTML5/CSS3 design meant to mimic an iOS app’s menu and display functionality.  How about that for a mouthful?  I built it out of the desire to make a website that functioned more like an app.

Why is this cool?

  1. WebAppl uses responsive design to cater the viewing experience to several different devices.  For instance, viewing the WebAppl design on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac will yield different layouts that are built specifically for that device.
  2. Responsive design is one of the next big things in web design, but when it comes to menus, I still haven’t seen anyone get it right.  WebAppl does.  It treats the site menu more like a mobile/tablet app menu, appearing only when you need to select something, then disappearing just as quickly.
  3. WebAppl is a simple single page solution.  And if we’re honest with ourselves, most websites only need a page to get their message across. WebAppl’s markup is straightforward, and setup is a breeze. Built only on HTML, CSS, and Javascript, getting started is as simple as downloading and opening the index file.

What does it use?

  • Modernizr – for HTML5 translation on older browsers
  • jQuery – a lovely Javascript framework
  • jQuery UI – for some of the TOC and website slider functionality
  • jQuery TOC – for the rest of the TOC functionality
  • Hyphenator – because justifying a website only using CSS is shit, and line breaks make your text look better.

I used HTML5 Boilerplate for the base code. My build environment, as usual: MAMP + Textmate on a Mac.

View a demo of WebAppl.
Want it? Git it.

]]> http://polymathworkshop.com/webappl/feed/ 0 Typogrpahy for Lawyers http://polymathworkshop.com/typogrpahy-for-lawyers/ http://polymathworkshop.com/typogrpahy-for-lawyers/#comments Sun, 31 Oct 2010 04:31:00 +0000 jay http://jayrmposterous.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/typogrpahy-for-lawyers ]]> Last Thursday, I had the privilege of teaching a typography class downtown to a group of attorneys from Stack & O’Connor Law Firm.  We covered topics like @font-face, cufon, sIFR, how to determine if a website is using any of these font replacement methods, and what font they’re using.  In conjunction with the class, I built a website, a handout, and a slideshow presentation.  None of these things will really give you an idea of the full value of the class, as a large portion of it was also instruction, but I’ve decided to share them with you guys.

I found teaching the class, and sharing my knowledge, quite enjoyable.  I also hope to further refine my resources and materials as I learn more, and possibly teach more, similar classes (something is already in the works for Workshop 88).

Let me know what you think, and if you have any suggestions/comments for updates.

]]> http://polymathworkshop.com/typogrpahy-for-lawyers/feed/ 0 WP E-Commerce User Management Tool http://polymathworkshop.com/wp-e-commerce-user-management-tool/ http://polymathworkshop.com/wp-e-commerce-user-management-tool/#comments Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:24:00 +0000 jay http://jayrmposterous.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/wp-e-commerce-user-management-tool ]]> I built a plugin for WP E-Commerce that allows administrators to manage customer data (think: Name, Address, etc).  It might be a little rough around the edges, but the basic user functionality is there.

To check it out, browse over to its github repository!

http://github.com/poplicola/WP-E-Commerce-User-Management

]]> http://polymathworkshop.com/wp-e-commerce-user-management-tool/feed/ 0 Getting Ruby on Rails Working with MAMP (Mac) http://polymathworkshop.com/getting-ruby-on-rails-working-with-mamp-mac/ http://polymathworkshop.com/getting-ruby-on-rails-working-with-mamp-mac/#comments Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:20:34 +0000 jay http://jayrmposterous.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/getting-ruby-on-rails-working-with-mamp-mac ]]> I just spent about two hours trying to set up Ruby on Rails on my Mac with MAMP. Here’s a quick and dirty of how to do it for those of you who don’t feel like going crazy.

Follow the installation steps for RoR here: http://wiki.rubyonrails.org/getting-started/installation/mac

Edit your MAMP MySQL installation using the steps provided on this website: http://boonedocks.net/mike/archives/175-MAMP-and-the-Ruby-MySQL-Gem.html

After you’ve created your first Rails project, locate it on your computer, then go to config/database.yml and enter the following:

development:
 adapter: mysql
 database: XXX_dev
 username: root
 password: root
 timeout: 5000
 socket: /Applications/MAMP/tmp/mysql/mysql.sock

# Warning: The database defined as "test" will be erased and
# re-generated from your development database when you run "rake".
# Do not set this db to the same as development or production.
test:
 adapter: mysql
 database: XXX_test
 username: root
 password: root
 timeout: 5000
 socket: /Applications/MAMP/tmp/mysql/mysql.sock

production:
 adapter: mysql
 database: XXX
 username: root
 password: root
 timeout: 5000
 socket: /Applications/MAMP/tmp/mysql/mysql.sock

Finally, follow the steps provided here to create your MySQL DB for the project.

Good luck.

]]> http://polymathworkshop.com/getting-ruby-on-rails-working-with-mamp-mac/feed/ 0 I Made a CueCat Decrypter in PHP http://polymathworkshop.com/i-made-a-cuecat-decrypter-in-php/ http://polymathworkshop.com/i-made-a-cuecat-decrypter-in-php/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:59:44 +0000 jay http://jayrmposterous.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/i-made-a-cuecat-decrypter-in-php ]]> I wrote a :CueCat decrypter for Workshop 88 based on the following scheme:

A B C
0 C3 n Z
1 CN j Y
2 Cx f X
3 Ch b W
4 D3 D 3
5 DN z 2
6 Dx v 1
7 Dh r 0
8 E3 T 7
9 EN P 6

You should check it out here, where I’ve also included the process.php file for download.

I’ll be working on additional features in the future, including product listing and price comparisons.

]]> http://polymathworkshop.com/i-made-a-cuecat-decrypter-in-php/feed/ 1