ed Export Cuts for Audio/Video Editors and Filler Cutting Updates By auphonic.com Published On :: Wed, 15 Nov 2023 14:09:43 +0000 For those of you who like to be in control of every applied cut, we are introducing an update for our Automatic Silence and Filler Word Cutting Algorithms today: The export of Cut Lists allows you to import cuts into your favorite audio/video editor to check and apply the cuts to your files manually. Thanks to your great feedback, we were able to update our “Filler Word Cutting” algorithm as well. Cut Lists Export We now provide the export of various formats of “Cut Lists” in the Auphonic Web Service. You can use these formats to modify and apply cuts in your post production audio or video editing program: Screenshot of the Reaper DAW with imported “ReaperRegions.csv”: pale red regions display filler words and pale gray regions mark silence. To generate the cut lists, choose “Cut List (Filler and Silence)” in the “Output Files” section. By selecting the correct “Ending” you can export the cut lists to a format that is suitable for your post production audio or video editor: We support regions and EDL (edit decision list) formats: Region formats (“AudacityRegions.txt”, “AuditionRegions.csv” and “ReaperRegions.csv”) list filler and silence cut regions with their respective start and end timestamps. You can import those cut region lists into your existing Audacity, Audition, or Reaper projects. There you can edit the cut positions to your liking by deleting, moving, or adding individual cut positions. After that, you may apply the cuts manually. EDL (edit decision list) formats, “SamplitudeReaper.edl”, “FinalCutProLegacy.xml”, “FinalCutProX.xml” and “DaVinciResolve.edl” (also known as “cmx3600” format and compatible with various editors), can be imported in your software to automatically apply cuts from the EDL file. Depending on the software you use, you may also edit individual cuts manually before applying them. Be aware though that in some editors it may not be possible to add them to an existing project. If this is the case, simply open a new project with the EDL file instead. Please just let us know if we do not yet provide a cut list format for your favorite audio or video editing program! Export Uncut Audio To only detect fillers/silence but NOT cut them, choose the “Export Uncut Audio” mode for “Automatic Cutting” in “Audio Algorithms”. Then you can query cutting times via our API or select your favorite Cut List format as “Output File” to only export cut times for later editing, but without applying cuts during the Auphonic audio post production. Using the option “Export Uncut Audio”, it is also possible to use our cutting algorithms for video productions. In this case, we will just detect and report cuts, and you can import and apply them in your favorite video editing program afterwards. Filler Word Cutting Updates Thanks to your great feedback, we've been able to further optimize our Automatic Filler Word Cutting algorithm. By now you probably know that our filler word cutter removes all types of “uhm”, “uh”, “mh”, “ähm”, “euh”, “eh” and similar sounds. If you haven't heard about it yet, our release blog post might be a good starting point. Enhanced Fade Curves We noticed that due to reverb or background noise in input files, some filler cuts did not sound as smooth as they should have. To prevent such rough cuts, we trained our filler detection models with more diverse speech data and compared different fade curve approaches. Now the filler detection is much more robust against noise. Additionally, we developed an asymmetrical fade solution, which, in our opinion, makes the cuts almost inaudible. We nonetheless recommend, though, that you use filler cutting in combination with our Dynamic Denoising or Speech Isolation algorithms. These algorithms remove heavy reverb or noise and thus prevent noise artifacts during cutting. Handling of Affirmative Sounds Some of you were bothered by the fact that affirmative sounds, like “mhm”, “aha”, and “yeah” were cut along with filler words. Driven by your feedback, we tweaked our filler detection algorithm in a way that will remove considerably fewer of these sounds. Multitrack Filler Silencing We also received requests to optimize filler cutting for crosstalk in Multitrack productions. Let's assume that two speech tracks are simultaneously active and one of the two tracks contains a filler word. In this case, we can not cut the filler word in one track without destroying parts of the speech in the other track. Our original solution was to skip such a filler. Now, however, we replace it with silence instead. This removes the filler words while preserving all the speech content. Feedback If you want to provide us feedback on how you like the updated filler cutting algorithm or about any other features that are missing, you are very welcome to contact us. You can also leave a comment in the feedback section on the status page of your concrete production. Full Article Audio News
ed New Auphonic Transcript Editor By auphonic.com Published On :: Thu, 21 Mar 2024 12:31:22 +0000 We're excited to roll out an upgraded version of our Transcript Editor, focusing on enhancing your transcription workflow and making it more intuitive, especially for mobile users. This overhaul introduces several key improvements and features designed to streamline the transcription process. Click here for a Live Demo What's new? Line by Line Editing Your transcript is being rendered line by line. This allows for precise editing of every single timestamp. Depending on the speech recognition engine editing can be done on word or phrase level. For optimal results, we suggest utilizing our Auphonic Whisper ASR engine. A paragraph with 9 lines, every line represents a "subtitle line" (.vtt, .srt). You can split or combine paragraphs and lines using the Enter and Backspace keys. Our new Playback Slider enables seamless scrolling through the text, while we highlight the currently selected word as you go. With the switchable Play on Click function you can start your playback from anywhere in the transcript. Automatic Shownotes and Chapters If you enable Automatic Shownotes and Chapters in the Production form, we include AI generated shownotes and chapters directly into the Transcript Editor. You can edit Chapter Times and Text directly within the Transcript Editor. Once you click Save (top right), any modifications made within the shownotes and chapters will also be saved back to the production. Screenshot of Automatic Shownotes and Chapters withing the Transcript Editor. You are also able to edit chapter times directly within the transcript editor. Please note that this only works within the Transcript section of the editor to ensure precise placement of chapters. Screenshot of Edit Chapter Time. Local History: Undo and Redo Our Local History feature offers convenient undo and redo functionality. This means you can effortlessly revert changes or redo them as needed, providing you with greater control and flexibility during the editing process. Edit Speakers Our revamped Transcript Editor automatically assigns speakers in Multitrack Productions. You can use the Track Identifier in our production form to assign speakers and easily edit, remove, or add new ones within the Transcript Editor. So it's clear who says what at any time! Screenshot of Edit Speaker. Confidence Highlighting Within the transcription areas of low confidence are highlighted with our Highlight Low Confidence feature. So you can check up on the AI and edit words it is not entirely confident about! It also shows you how confident the AI is about the specific area if you hover over it. Offline Mode This feature enables you to download and share the Transcript Editor for offline editing. This means you can share the *.html file with someone else for editing purposes. Simply use the Download Editor action to obtain an offline version of the Transcript Editor. Export Transcript You can export your transcript in all currently relevant formats (.srt, .vtt, .txt, .html, .pdf) and include them in your publishing process or video editing software. Screenshot of Export Transcript. Responsive Design We want to make podcasting as easy as possible. The responsive design of our Transcript Editor allows for fast editing on mobile devices - so you can edit what you're saying anywhere, anytime! Screenshot of Transcript Editor on a mobile device. Why use it? Apple Podcasts paved the way for all podcasts to feature transcripts, so users can read through what you are saying and look for specific parts of your talk they're interested in revisiting. That could be book recommendations, advertisements or one of your ideas you want to share with the world. We're trying to make the transcription process as automated and easy for you as possible. Especially when using Multitrack Productions we strive to take all the work off of you and let the AI do its magic. Additionally, we aim to simplify manual corrections wherever automated processes encounter challenges, ensuring that even these adjustments are as effortless as possible. Try it now on auphonic.com! Feedback If you have feature requests or feedback for our new Transcript Editor, please let us know! You can also leave a comment in the feedback section on the status page of your specific production. We're looking forward to hearing from you! Full Article Development News
ed Independently control Noise, Reverb and Breath Reduction Amounts By auphonic.com Published On :: Thu, 16 May 2024 13:20:55 +0000 Responding to your feedback, we are now proud to present new separate parameters for noise, reverb, and breath reduction to give you more flexible control for your individual, best output results. Find all the new parameters below and listen to the Audio Examples to get a closer impression of the upgrade. What's the update about? Before Previously, you could only set the Denoising Method and one reduction amount, that was used for all elements. Depending on the selected method, you were already able to decide whether music, static, or changing noises should be removed, but there was no setting to keep the typewriter sound effects while removing the reverb, for example. Now With our latest upgrade, you can now set the reduction amounts separately for noise, reverb, and breathing sounds. For example, you could completely remove the background noise while reducing the reverb just a little to enhance speech intelligibility but keep the atmosphere. Like we did in Audio Example 1. Many of you have also asked about the possibility of slightly reducing breath sounds rather than eliminating them completely. In Audio Example 2 we demonstrate how you can prevent your audio from sounding strange and unnatural by reducing instead of eliminating all breathing sounds. To all of you who are happy with the results and don't want anything to change, relax: If you don't change the default settings, the noise reduction algorithms work exactly the same as before. Note: As the 'Static Denoiser' removes only stationary noise, there are no 'Remove Reverb' and 'Remove Breathings' parameters available for this denoising method. New Parameters Screenshot of the new Noise Reduction Parameters in the production form. In order to use the new noise reduction features, you may separately set the following parameters: Denoising Method: (unchanged) Select what kind of noise you want to remove. [Dynamic Denoiser (default), Speech Isolation, Static Denoiser] Note that the parameters 'Remove Reverb' and 'Remove Breathings' are NOT available for Static Denoiser! Remove Noise: Select the amount of noise you want to remove. [100 dB (default), Disable Denoise, 3 dB, 6 dB, ..., 100 dB (full)] Remove Reverb: Select the amount of reverb you want to remove. [100 dB (default), Disable Deverb, 3 dB, 6 dB, ..., 100 dB (full)] Remove Breathings: Select the amount of breathings you want to remove. [Off (default), 3 dB, 6 dB, ..., 100 dB (full)] Feel free to experiment with all the options to find your preferred parameter settings! Editing and reprocessing existing productions does not cost any additional credits as long as you don't change the input file. Listen to the results: 1. Reverb reduction with full noise elimination For the first audio example by conduitministries.com we set the 'Remove Noise' amount to 100 dB (full) and varied the 'Remove Reverb' amount starting from 0 dB (Off) to 12 dB (medium) and to 100 dB (full). Listen to how first the noise is gone and then step by step the reverb is lower: Original -100dB Denoise -0dB Deverb -100dB Denoise -12dB Deverb -100dB Denoise -100dB Deverb 2. Breathing sound reduction In the breathing reduction audio example by LibriVox.org we used the 'Remove Breathing' amounts increasing from the original audio with 0 dB (Off) to 12 dB (medium) and to 100 dB (full) reduction. In the result files you can hear, that the 100 dB (full) elimination leads to weird, unnatural-sounding pauses, that can be prevented by just reducing the breathing sounds: Original -12dB Debreath -100dB Debreath Try it now on auphonic.com! Feedback We hope you like our upgraded version of the Noise Reduction Algorithms with new parameters for more control. If you have more feature requests or feedback for us, please let us know! You can also leave a comment in the feedback section on the status page of your specific production. We're looking forward to hearing from you! Full Article Audio Development News
ed AI Is About to Change Education Forever (Again) By chasejarvis.com Published On :: Wed, 22 May 2024 13:00:04 +0000 Change is a scary word. So when we hear it non-stop in conversations about AI, it’s no surprise that many people feel a sense of unease. But what if AI could actually be used for good? Imagine a world where technology is not just about profits and efficiency, but also about improving education and learning opportunities for all. Sal Khan believes that future is possible. If his name sounds familiar, that’s probably because you’ve picked up a skill or two through his widely-used learning platform, Khan Academy. And if that’s the case, you wouldn’t be alone. Some 170 million people around the world currently use its educational resources on subjects ranging from Algebra 1 to Chemistry. A lot of this help is video-based, but they’ve begun introducing adaptive software with interactive exercises more recently as well. Looking at the big picture, Sal hopes to build Khan Academy into a fully-fledged digital tutor capable of both teaching lessons and providing personalized learning experiences to users. Does AI Enable Cheating In Schools? The widespread popularization of AI has garnered some serious questions about cheating in schools. Teachers and parents are voicing concern that kids will use the technology to cut corners, or... The post AI Is About to Change Education Forever (Again) first appeared on Chase Jarvis. The post AI Is About to Change Education Forever (Again) appeared first on Chase Jarvis. Full Article chasejarvisLIVE Podcast AI artificial intelligence creativity education learning life long learning
ed 5 Proven Ways to Get Things Done (No Motivation Required) By chasejarvis.com Published On :: Mon, 10 Jun 2024 13:00:44 +0000 Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in a loop, endlessly waiting for that burst of motivation to strike? You’re not alone. The fear of wasted potential and the desire for meaningful progress haunt creators and entrepreneurs alike. But here’s the hard truth: motivation is unreliable. It’s fleeting. It can vanish as quickly as it appears. If you’re tired of waiting for that perfect moment to take action, it’s time to shift your focus. What if I told you that momentum, not motivation, is the true driver of success? A Whisper of Intuition You know my story. From a young age, I betrayed my true passions, suppressing my creativity in favor of playing it safe. It wasn’t until my grandfather’s sudden passing left me with his cameras that I listened to that inner voice. It was a nudge, barely louder than the noise around me, but I took the leap. Following my gut instead of my conditioned safety net changed my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Just like that Chinese proverb: the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. This isn’t just true for me; it’s true for all... The post 5 Proven Ways to Get Things Done (No Motivation Required) first appeared on Chase Jarvis. The post 5 Proven Ways to Get Things Done (No Motivation Required) appeared first on Chase Jarvis. Full Article chasejarvisLIVE Podcast career growth feeling stuck goals habits how to start intuition momentum motivation productivity
ed How I Reclaimed My Creative Spark (Try these 8 boosters) By chasejarvis.com Published On :: Mon, 08 Jul 2024 13:00:34 +0000 Let’s talk about something we’ve all faced – that dreaded creative slump. You know the feeling – ideas just aren’t flowing, everything feels stale, and you’re wondering if you’ve lost your mojo. I’ve been there, and I want to share how I broke through and reclaimed my creative fire. Even better, I’ll give you 8 actionable boosters you can start using today. 1. Master Your Craft (But Don’t Stop There) First things first – there’s no substitute for honing your skills. Whether you’re a photographer, writer, musician, or any other type of creator, dedicating time to improve your technical abilities is crucial. But here’s the kicker – don’t let that be your only focus. Try: Set aside 30 minutes each day to work on a specific aspect of your craft. Maybe it’s lighting techniques, chord progressions, or narrative structure. Track your progress over a month and see how it impacts your overall work. 2. Cross-Train Your Creativity This is a game-changer, folks. Just like athletes cross-train to become more well-rounded, we creators need to flex different creative muscles. If you’re a photographer, try your hand at writing. Musicians, pick up a paintbrush. Try: The 30-Day Creative Cross-Training Challenge Week 1:... The post How I Reclaimed My Creative Spark (Try these 8 boosters) first appeared on Chase Jarvis. The post How I Reclaimed My Creative Spark (Try these 8 boosters) appeared first on Chase Jarvis. Full Article chasejarvisLIVE Podcast community creative boosters creative challenge creative ideas creativity play rest sleep
ed The Deep Connection Between Creativity and Meditation By chasejarvis.com Published On :: Wed, 10 Jul 2024 13:00:04 +0000 We often think of creativity and meditation as separate practices – one active and expressive, the other quiet and introspective. But what if these two seemingly different pursuits are actually deeply interconnected, each enhancing and amplifying the other? This fascinating relationship between creativity and meditation was at the heart of my recent conversation with Henry Shukman, an award-winning poet, author, and Zen master. Henry’s unique background bridges the worlds of artistic expression and contemplative practice, giving him profound insights into how meditation can unlock our creative potential. The Creative Benefits of a Quiet Mind One of the core benefits of meditation is learning to quiet the constant chatter of our minds. As Henry explained, this mental stillness creates space for new ideas and inspirations to emerge: “When we meditate regularly, we’re training our minds to be less caught up in the constant stream of thoughts and worries. And in that spaciousness, creativity has room to flourish. Novel connections and insights can bubble up from our subconscious.” This aligns with what many great artists and innovators have reported – that their best ideas often come during moments of mental quiet and relaxation. By cultivating a meditation practice, we’re essentially preparing fertile... The post The Deep Connection Between Creativity and Meditation first appeared on Chase Jarvis. The post The Deep Connection Between Creativity and Meditation appeared first on Chase Jarvis. Full Article chasejarvisLIVE Podcast brain health creativity healing meditation mindset nervous system zen
ed Redefining Success: I Made $5 Million in Revenue and Still “Failed” By chasejarvis.com Published On :: Mon, 29 Jul 2024 13:00:56 +0000 Why $5 million in revenue didn't mean success. Redefine what winning means in the startup world. The post Redefining Success: I Made $5 Million in Revenue and Still “Failed” first appeared on Chase Jarvis. The post Redefining Success: I Made $5 Million in Revenue and Still “Failed” appeared first on Chase Jarvis. Full Article chasejarvisLIVE Podcast action build a business community consistency creative daily creativity fear risk startup success
ed The Creative Pause: Why We Need to Stop Asking “What’s Next?” By chasejarvis.com Published On :: Mon, 09 Sep 2024 13:00:24 +0000 Learn why a "creative pause" after major achievements is essential for growth. Simone Biles shows us how to embrace rest and reflection over constant pressure. The post The Creative Pause: Why We Need to Stop Asking “What’s Next?” first appeared on Chase Jarvis. The post The Creative Pause: Why We Need to Stop Asking “What’s Next?” appeared first on Chase Jarvis. Full Article chasejarvisLIVE Podcast achievement creative pause intuition pressure pressure to perform Reflection rest slow down success tinkering
ed 6 Unexpected Ways to Break Free from the Herd By chasejarvis.com Published On :: Wed, 25 Sep 2024 13:00:35 +0000 Learn 6 unconventional strategies to break out of the herd, embrace bold risks, and reignite your creativity for real growth. The post 6 Unexpected Ways to Break Free from the Herd first appeared on Chase Jarvis. The post 6 Unexpected Ways to Break Free from the Herd appeared first on Chase Jarvis. Full Article chasejarvisLIVE Podcast challenge yourself comfort zone creativity Never play it safe take risks
ed The Dark Side of Productivity Myths Exposed By chasejarvis.com Published On :: Wed, 30 Oct 2024 13:00:36 +0000 In this episode, Oliver Burkeman gets real with me about the power of embracing limits to unlock a richer, more productive life. We talk about his book, Meditations for Mortals, and unpack why so much of traditional time management is flawed. Instead of chasing perfection, Oliver shows how small, intentional steps and accepting our constraints can actually lead to more freedom and fulfillment. His take on “imperfectionism” and the value of presence offers a fresh way to tackle life’s demands. Some highlights we explore: Shifting from private doubts to taking small, meaningful actions Using “imperfectionism” to overcome perfectionism’s trap Letting go of control to reduce stress and gain momentum Enjoy! FOLLOW OLIVER BURKEMAN: twitter | website Listen to the Podcast Subscribe The post The Dark Side of Productivity Myths Exposed first appeared on Chase Jarvis. The post The Dark Side of Productivity Myths Exposed appeared first on Chase Jarvis. Full Article chasejarvisLIVE Podcast control imperfectionism limitations perfectionism productivity time management
ed Shared tag space By well-formed-data.net Published On :: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 14:44:21 +0000 A little sideproduct from the selfiecity project: (click for zoomable version) Shared tag space — a comparative visualization of the keywords people in five cities use to describe their selfies. The visualization displays a network of tags, cities and photos. The photos are used as bridges between tags and cities. Only tags that have been […] Full Article Personal network selfiecity tagging
ed The Internet of Things in Logistics: Real-Time Data for Enhanced Visibility By cssdeck.com Published On :: Thu, 01 Aug 2024 14:19:46 +0000 The logistics industry has experienced a meaningful changeover with the appearance of the Internet of Things (IoT). By enabling real-time data collection and analysis, IoT has supplied new visibility into logistics operations. This raised visibility is key for keeping up [...] Read Article The post The Internet of Things in Logistics: Real-Time Data for Enhanced Visibility first appeared on CSS Reset. Full Article Uncategorized
ed Leveraging Automated Market Analyzers: A Developer’s Guide to Building Financial Tools with Web Technologies By cssdeck.com Published On :: Tue, 22 Oct 2024 15:51:10 +0000 Building financial tools has never been more accessible. With the rise of web technologies, developers can create powerful market analyzers that are quick, responsive, and packed with features that were previously only available to large trading platforms. Here, we outline [...] Read Article The post Leveraging Automated Market Analyzers: A Developer’s Guide to Building Financial Tools with Web Technologies first appeared on CSS Reset. Full Article Uncategorized
ed Create a Stylized Ocean Design in Adobe Illustrator By vectips.com Published On :: Tue, 02 Feb 2021 11:36:59 +0000 In this tutorial we’ll be making a nautical scene with underwater elements. We’ll be using basic geometric shapes as well as creating our own brushes and doing some freehand drawing to create a unique ocean design. Let’s get started! Tutorial Details Program: Adobe Illustrator CS6 – CC Difficulty: Intermediate Topics Covered: Shape Building, Paintbrush Tool, […] The post Create a Stylized Ocean Design in Adobe Illustrator appeared first on Vectips. Full Article Tips Tips and Tricks Tricks Tutorials adobe illustrator composition design flat illustrator nautical ocean pattern sea stylized tutorial underwater vector vector design vector illustration vector tutorial
ed Get Your WordPress Site Indexed on Google in Less than 24 Hours By blogohblog.com Published On :: Sat, 10 Mar 2018 22:40:06 +0000 “Google.com is the GOD of Internet”. We all know that. God loves all its children and so does Google. But Google has so many children that it keeps forgetting their names. Some children are active, some are lazy, and some are even naughty. It must be reminded about the children each and every day. If... Full Article Articles Blogosphere Internet SEO Wordpress Google Indexing Webmaster Tools
ed English language requirement tightened for Student and Temporary Graduate Visa Applicants By visaaustralia.com.au Published On :: Mon, 15 Apr 2024 06:04:29 +0000 The Australian Government has recently announced new English language requirements for Student and Temporary Graduate visa applications. These changes are intended to ensure that international students and graduates have a solid command of the English language to successfully participate in academic and professional settings in Australia. New English Language Requirements Under the updated visa application […] The post English language requirement tightened for Student and Temporary Graduate Visa Applicants appeared first on Australian Visa Experts. Full Article News academic expectation employment opportunities english language english language tests english skills graduate higher education IELTS international student language criteria PTE student visa temporary graduate visa
ed Important Changes to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) Effective from 1 July 2024 By visaaustralia.com.au Published On :: Fri, 31 May 2024 17:00:06 +0000 The Australian government is making a significant update to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT), reflecting its ongoing commitment to maintaining fair wages and conditions for skilled migrants. From 1 July 2024, the TSMIT will increase from $70,000 to $73,150. This change is part of the broader initiatives announced during the Jobs and Skills […] The post Important Changes to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) Effective from 1 July 2024 appeared first on Australian Visa Experts. Full Article News business sponsorship Direct entry stream employer nomination scheme employer sponsored regional ENS labour market skilled migrant skilled migrants sponsorship obligation subclass 186 subclass 482 subclass 494 temporary skilled migration income threshold temporary skilled visa temporary skilled visa holders teporary skill shortage TSMIT
ed How to Do a Wikipedia Redesign By Published On :: Mon, 19 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000 Unsolicited redesigns are fun. They’re also always criticized for their superficial approach that only takes care of surface level problems. Developers at Raureif have done yet another redesign of Wikipedia, but with one big difference from all the other redesigns: they’ve actually created a real, working app. Since Wikipedia has a permissive license, you can repackage (and even sell) its content if you so wish, so there is little stopping anyone from implementing a functional redesign of the site (besides all the hard work). The team at Raureif have seized this opportunity and created Das Referenz – an iOS Wikipedia app. Apart from seeing your ideas tested in the real world, this hands-on approach to redesign also gives you an opportunity to profit from them: if the new UI provides enough value, people will pay you for it through app sales or via ads (Das Referenz uses both ads and a pay-for option to remove ads). That’s how you do a Wikipedia redesign. Full Article
ed On Styled Form Elements By Published On :: Fri, 30 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000 Anthony Colangelo makes the case for letting the browser and operating system decide how form elements should be styled: Dropdowns and date pickers are just a sampling of the things that are better handled by systems themselves—a device will always be able to make better decisions about its use than the device-agnostic web. The simplistic interactions of early input types gave us room to experiment, but the more complex interactions of modern fields leave little room for that. There’s only so much we can control before the browser and operating system take over, and then we’re at their whim. The web isn’t stopping any time soon—we’re headed for more complex input types with even less control exposed. I agree. Trying to control form styling is a bit like trying to build sites for a specific set of screen widths. Yes, you can keep creating and managing more breakpoints, but you’ll always be fighting a losing battle because there will always be more screen sizes to design for. A better strategy is to choose a minimal amount of breakpoints to suit the content, and use a liquid layout to fill the rest. In the same way, browsers will always be evolving the implementation of their form elements, so trying to keep your own implementation consistent across all platforms will introduce an ongoing maintenance burden. Of course there will be cases where you have to implement your own styles – the form element you want may not exist, or may not be suited to your needs – but if there is no great need then it’s best to leave the specifics of form implementation to the browser. Full Article
ed Design Trend Predictors By Published On :: Fri, 13 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000 Joel Unger approaches the blurry, semi-transparent window aesthetic, recently introduced in iOS7 and now making its way to OS X Yosemite, from the standpoint of evolutionary biology. He argues that the reasons for this latest trend, as well as other trends, are: 1) the visual effect is relatively rare, and 2) the effect is expensive to achieve (in this case expensive in terms of graphics processing power). Both of these go hand in hand given that what is expensive to achieve is probably also going to be rare, at least for the period it still remains expensive. While these two things are initially the differentiator for the trendsetter, they will inevitably be mimicked by others, resulting in a design trend. Full Article
ed Beautiful Jewels Inspired by the Ocean By www.fubiz.net Published On :: Thu, 15 Dec 2022 22:48:33 +0000 Mademoiselle Salty est une marque née dans l’esprit de Marion Ferrari, lors d’une année de vie en Indonésie. L’équipe derrière elle, liée par une passion de l’océan, du surf, des voyages, des bijoux et de la culture indonésienne, propose des bagues, colliers ou encore des bracelets et accessoires fabriqués à la main. Ces derniers sont […] Full Article Design Fashion Product product
ed Fossils Woven on a Bed of Embroidery By www.fubiz.net Published On :: Mon, 09 Jan 2023 00:53:24 +0000 Loin d’effectuer un travail archéologique (quoique…), Rachel Crisp alias @bluesunthreads créé des broderies inspirées par la nature. L’artiste, photographe et guide touristique réalise des œuvres sur lesquelles figurent des crânes de dinosaures, entourés de végétation. Travaillant sur plusieurs formats l’artiste donne l’impression, grâce à son travail sur la texture, que ces os reposent sur le […] Full Article Design Product
ed The introvert’s guide to navigating a professional world designed for extroverts By nathanrice.me Published On :: Wed, 19 Aug 2020 12:50:55 +0000 About a month into the economic shutdown that came as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, I started to notice something that was, let’s say, peculiar. At least peculiar to me. I’m an introvert. I certainly don’t deny that. The “stay at home” orders were really not a problem for me or my family. I … The post The introvert’s guide to navigating a professional world designed for extroverts appeared first on Nathan Rice. Full Article Career Leadership
ed Introducing The Best Free Video Editing App Of All Time: CapCut By icanbecreative.com Published On :: Thu, 18 May 23 15:37:46 +0300 CapCut is a multifaceted one of the best free video editing mobile application that offers many features and tools to elevate the quality of your influencer ... Full Article Resources
ed The Big Bang Theory Cast In Cyberpunk World Imagined By AI By icanbecreative.com Published On :: Sun, 21 May 23 16:46:24 +0300 Imagine a collision between two vastly different worlds: the geeky universe of The Big Bang Theory and the futuristic realm of cyberpunk. In this article, w ... Full Article Design Roud-up
ed Septerra Core Redesign: Legacy of the Creator Reimagined By icanbecreative.com Published On :: Sun, 10 Sep 23 12:46:16 +0300 Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator stands as a testament to the golden era of role-playing games. With its intricate storyline, captivating characters, an ... Full Article Design Roud-up
ed 24 Free Grunge Texture Downloads: High-Quality Images For Photoshop Editing By icanbecreative.com Published On :: Tue, 03 Sep 24 10:57:58 +0300 Hey there, fellow design enthusiasts! I've got something super cool to share with you today. You know those grungy, vintage-looking textures that make your ... Full Article Textures
ed Personal User Interfaces: A.I. Augmented Reality And The Future Of Personalized Advertising By icanbecreative.com Published On :: Thu, 07 Nov 24 13:08:44 +0200 Technology today loves making stuff just for you, and it's changing the game in how we get our digital kicks. In an era where personalization is paramount, ... Full Article Learning
ed Koi Theme Has Moved By ndesign-studio.com Published On :: Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:24:16 +0000 Please be advised that the Koi theme has been converted into a Themify theme. With the Themify framework and widgets integration, it gives you more options in term of theme settings, styling, layout options, and sidebar widgets. I also added some new WordPress 3.0 features such as custom menus and child theme support. Read this […] Full Article Blog Updates WordPress
ed New Edmin Theme By ndesign-studio.com Published On :: Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:25:12 +0000 I just designed another elegant WordPress theme at Themify called Edmin. This theme comes 4 different skins and 7 layout options. It is suitable for general blog and photography sites. Check out the demo now. Full Article Blog Updates
ed Web Designer Wall Redesign By ndesign-studio.com Published On :: Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:17:53 +0000 After 3.5+ years, I finally gave Web Designer Wall a new look. The new design is not just visually appealing, but well coded in technical point of view. I incorporated a lot of new web standard techniques such as HTML5, CSS3, and media queries. The new design works on all devices and resolutions. The design […] Full Article Blog Updates
ed New Minimal & Responsive Theme Released at Themify By ndesign-studio.com Published On :: Tue, 31 May 2011 15:10:38 +0000 I just wanted to announce a new WordPress theme that I designed called Elemin. It is minimal theme coded with Google font, CSS3, Javascript and HTML5. The design is completely fluid and responsive (using CSS3 Media Queries). This means the layout automatically adapts based on the user’s viewport. To see it in action, visit the […] Full Article Blog Updates
ed Best Web Gallery Redesigned By ndesign-studio.com Published On :: Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:13:20 +0000 I recently redesigned Best Web Gallery with responsive features. Check it out! Full Article Blog Updates
ed Cake Based on Phoenix Illustration By ndesign-studio.com Published On :: Fri, 01 Jun 2012 20:34:29 +0000 Check out this awesome cake made by Elena based on my Phoenix illustration. According to Elena, it took her about a week, 5 hours each day, to finish it. I’m amazed with the details and colors she input on the work. It depicts the features of the Chinese phoenix. The cake was for a local cake […] Full Article Blog Photos
ed New Illustration: Redesign The Web By ndesign-studio.com Published On :: Thu, 12 Jul 2012 22:08:55 +0000 Below is the latest illustration, Redesign the Web Poster, that I did for Smashing Magazine’s poster design contest: Redesign the Web, Redesign the World. The work is done with Adobe Illustrator and then touched up with Photoshop. Full Article Blog Updates
ed Canon 7D discontinued – Great times to buy a Canon 7D By www.tzplanet.com Published On :: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 21:32:58 +0000 With a Canon 7D replacement more and more likely, and expected to be announced soon, is this the time to think about buying a Canon 7D? Related posts: Great Deals on Adobe Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5 110 Great Resources for Photographers Full Article Photography News 7D Canon Featured News Rumours
ed 22 passive income ideas to achieve financial freedom By woocommerce.com Published On :: Fri, 09 Aug 2024 15:14:37 +0000 Earn while you sleep: Realistic passive income ideas you can pursue part time! Ditch the 9-5 with the right idea, hard work, & these essential tools. Full Article Business Ideas Sell Online
ed Spain-based DOMMA sees 350% YoY growth with WooCommerce and Google By woocommerce.com Published On :: Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:31:25 +0000 How the wellness brand DOMMA achieved 350% year-over-year growth with one key tool. Can’t-miss success tips from a successful women-owned brand. Full Article Customer Stories
ed Kellox and Maksimer: Speeding up 800,000 SKUs with WooCommerce By woocommerce.com Published On :: Mon, 30 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000 How one of Norway's largest importers migrated to WooCommerce and scaled an 800k SKU operation for a better user experience, performance, and results. Full Article Customer Stories Enterprise Ecommerce
ed Prepare your checkout for the holidays: 5 ways to reduce cart abandonment with Amazon Pay By woocommerce.com Published On :: Thu, 17 Oct 2024 14:54:49 +0000 Make the most of the holiday shopping season — convert more visitors into customers. Quick changes that can make a big difference in 5 steps. Full Article Payments Sell Online
ed Ten tips for reducing ecommerce fulfillment costs By woocommerce.com Published On :: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 19:20:59 +0000 Control fulfillment costs by using 3PL services, rethinking packaging materials, using scalable warehouse space, and automating processes. Full Article Shipping
ed 6 Best Blogging Platforms for Beginners – Compared (2023) By wphacks.com Published On :: Thu, 15 Dec 2022 08:00:00 +0000 In 2020, the number of bloggers is expected to reach 31.7 million, which means the best blogging platforms are in […] The post 6 Best Blogging Platforms for Beginners – Compared (2023) appeared first on WPHacks. Full Article Showcase blogging for beginners blogging platform
ed Flourished cherry blossom By xltphoto.net Published On :: Fri, 01 Jul 2016 14:43:37 +0000 Full Article Nature blossom flower spring
ed Rusted machinery By xltphoto.net Published On :: Thu, 14 Jul 2016 12:35:29 +0000 Full Article Industrial abandoned machine old rust
ed Zebra Patterns: Every Mirrorless Photographer Needs Them! By alphatracks.com Published On :: Fri, 19 Nov 2021 15:37:51 +0000 Zebra Patterns: Every Mirrorless Photographer Needs Them. Most Sony Alpha Mirrorlesss Cameras have the option... The post Zebra Patterns: Every Mirrorless Photographer Needs Them! appeared first on Alphatracks. Full Article Exposure Technique Tips & Tricks
ed Balancing Image Speed and Quality with imgix By www.viget.com Published On :: Tue, 18 Jun 2024 12:00:00 -0400 Users expect a website to load fast. An average web page loads in about 2.5 seconds. The longer the user has to wait, the higher the user bounce rate. There are a lot of factors that go into site speed, but images account for about 75% of the page weight on an application or website. Google’s Core Web Vitals uses several metrics to rank sites. Visual site speed or largest contentful paint affects ROI as slower sites have fewer repeat users and fewer sales.Without properly sized images, both site speed and image quality are affected. Accordingly, we use several methods to deliver properly sized images. Our primary solution is imgix because it is easy to implement and saves managers and clients time and effort. Imgix Key FeaturesImgix provides a lot of features — some we consistently use on projects, and others we use in very specific situations. Responsive ImagesSetting up responsive images can be complex. As the variety of devices and their screen resolutions continue to expand, managing all the different image requirements is increasingly challenging.Consider this scenario: a website’s images look crisp and clear on a high-resolution monitor. When that same page is viewed on a mobile device, the images are so large the page takes forever to load. A solution could be to upload a smaller image for mobile, right? It's not quite that simple. We need eight or more different sizes of the same image to account for different screen sizes and retina screens. Keeping track of all the image sizes and saving each size gets complex and would be nearly impossible to do manually on a site that has hundreds or thousands of images. One of our clients, National Park Foundation (NPF), wanted to clarify its message to better target major donors. Their gorgeous, large scenic images are essential to their website strategy. NPF needed the images throughout their site to be crisp and clear at all screen sizes. Using imgix, NPF content managers can load high-resolution images to the CMS and not worry about the site's speed or performance. They rely on imgix to deliver the correctly resized image for any user's screen.Imgix does this with their Device Pixel Ratio and Client Hints which automatically sets the pixel density for the image based on the user's device. Those API parameters can be easily set in the URLs for the image’s `srcset`. This allows developers to set an image width for an image `srcset` and then imgix delivers the right pixel ratio image to the user. We use `srcset` with imgix on other client sites like Bezos Earth Fund and Human Rights Campaign as well. Resize and CroppingImgix allows you to crop images in addition to setting an image’s focal point. So, only one image needs to be uploaded and it can be used at multiple sizes and croppings throughout the site. Let's say we upload a large landscape image, but on some pages we only need to use a portion of the image cropped as a square. Imgix will crop the image and deliver the smaller versions on the pages we need while persisting the larger versions on other pages.At Viget we use resizing and cropping on our own website, including our articles, to crop the staff photo to a smaller size at the top of the articles. This makes it possible for us to upload the staff photo once and the article image gets created automatically. Color Palette Another feature that we've used on client sites is the Color Palette API which allows you as many colors as you want from an image. For example, the Shedd Aquarium website that we built uses this feature by pulling a vibrant color from the image and setting it as the background color for the page hero. Aside from taking the manual work out of closely aligning photography with a page’s design, there’s an additional benefit: if you are on a slow connection, you will see a dynamic colored banner at the top before the image loads. Image UpscalingAnother valuable feature is the ability to upscale images. Even if you upload an image that is low resolution, it can still be used at a higher resolution. This is especially useful for e-commerce sites or applications where users are uploading their images. The upscale feature uses Generative AI to take a pixelated image and create a higher-resolution image. The final image will not be perfect, but it looks more professional. See the upscale demo on imgix. Non-upscaled image Upscaled image using Imgix PDF Preview ImagesThere is also a PDF page to image option in imgix. The API enables the generation of a page-specific image preview from the PDF, which can serve as both a thumbnail and a full-size preview. When we built AHIP.org, they had a resources section for their members containing quite a few PDFs. To help with clarity and findability, we used imgix to show previews of the PDF documents to non-members. This feature allows AHIP to upload resource PDFs without having to also upload any thumbnail images. Face DetectionAnother nice feature is a face detection parameter that you can pass to the API. This allows you to upload a photo and no matter the cropping or size it will keep the face as the focal point of the image. We used this feature on NEA for their team member page. It's great for user profile images that are used in different contexts throughout the site. Video StreamingVideos have become a key design element on websites. However, determining which service to use for embedding those videos is an ongoing topic of discussion. Video platforms enable you to integrate the video onto the page, yet they introduce scripts that may impede page loading speed. Imgix offers a video embed service that allows content managers to keep all the images and videos in one place. The videos are automatically encoded to Adaptive Bitrate Streaming to get the best compression and video quality. So, videos load fast and look great on mobile and desktop. Imgix Video API with Adaptive Bitrate Streaming Performance A lot of CMSs have image transformations built in. An image transformation encompasses everything for that image including responsive sizes, cropping, resizing, and face detection from the original. This is great for small sets of images, but transformations quickly get out of hand the more images there are on a site. For example, the homepage of the National Park Foundation has a minimum of 96 image transformations. Processing all of those image transformations uses a lot of server resources. Imgix saves the images and delivers them through their CDN. The imgix image CDN has an average of 0.15 milliseconds return on requests which enables images to load as quickly as possible. The CDN also caches the images on CDN edge nodes making them immediately available for future requests. FlexibilityImgix is flexible enough to work with almost any site structure; including WordPress, Craft CMS, Shopify, React, Ruby on Rails, Python, and more (see the full list). So, whether a site is a WordPress site or a Rails application, imgix fits right into the ecosystem. And, even better: you don’t have to rebuild your web app or website to gain the benefits of image performance, which can save you a lot of time and money.Setting up imgix on an existing website is easy. Imgix can connect to existing asset storage sources like AWS, Azure, or a web folder on the same domain. Once the image source is set up, a developer can start passing parameters to the API. CostImgix is free for 1,000 images which makes it easy to integrate and grow with your site. Pricing goes to $750/yr for 5,000 images and $3,000/yr for 25,000 images. In their pricing structure, “images” are categorized as origin images, so the count only includes original images and not transformed ones. So, you could have hundreds of images and thousands of image transformations all being delivered through a CDN for free. ConclusionEnsuring fast site speed isn't just important. It is vital. It's the cornerstone of a successful online presence, directly influencing search engine rankings, user satisfaction, and ultimately, your return on investment. Properly sized and optimized images are key to ensuring your site loads quickly and displays correctly for users across various devices.We have found that imgix enables our team to efficiently create projects with diverse image options, saving managers and developers valuable time. Our clients benefit from reduced server space and an increased site speed. Imgix’s API is comprehensive, so you can use one tool for all features and options around site images — from cropping and resizing to face detection and automated color palettes, to video and beyond. Having used imgix for the past five years to support the wide-ranging needs of our clients, we feel confident recommending it and using it again and again. Users expect a website to load fast, and imgix is a reliable way to make sure that happens. Full Article Code Front-end Engineering Content Management Performance
ed Building Well-Connected Distributed Teams By www.viget.com Published On :: Tue, 06 Aug 2024 09:30:00 -0400 Five years ago, without consciously trying, I would have noticed if a coworker was taking a break, feeling extra chatty, or looking hyper-focused. I got to choose whether to respond and how I might build rapport by responding (I’m sure I didn’t always get it right). Now that more of the Viget team works from home than in an office, I feel a loss. I have less awareness of other people's states of mind and fewer chances to demonstrate my interest. I need to learn new ways of connecting. I took notice when Adam Grant recently posted about pebbling: Sending memes, links, and videos to others isn't trivial. It signals that you're thinking of them and want them to share your joy. It's known as pebbling, based on penguins gifting pebbles to potential partners. Pebbling is an act of care. Every pebble is a bid for connection.” Grant acknowledges that the term "pebbling" comes from penguins, but he also uses the phrase “bid for connection,” which I associate with John Gottman. Gottman is a well-known psychologist who has researched marital stability and relationships. His work provides insights into how small interactions, or "bids," play a crucial role in building strong relationships. Gottman defines a "bid" as any attempt from one person to another for attention, affirmation, affection, or any positive connection. A bid can be as explicit as saying, “I had such a hard day,” or as random as saying, “Did you see the size of that red bird?” The impact of responding with interest (turning toward) or ignoring or dismissing (turning away from) significantly influences the quality of the relationship. A simple, “Tell me what happened,” or “What? No, I missed it!” can foster closeness and trust. Silence or something like, “Here we go again,” will spark feelings of neglect and distance.Gottman's research is widely cited and has impacted my understanding of relationships. I'm interested in bids for connection at work, particularly as our work environment has changed dramatically in recent years.Connections at WorkFinding the right balance of work and non-work is a central challenge for most of us as we navigate demands on our time and energy. I generally hope work is a small enough part of a person’s life that they have time for many other things, but also that their work environment is engaging and meaningful enough that they enjoy it. I hope friendships emerge at work, mostly through collaboration or out of the gaps between responsibilities. As remote work has become commonplace, I find it’s harder to foster connections than it was before. The lack of proximity, and therefore organic social interactions, makes it harder for me to know my coworkers and be known by them. I’m not advocating for returning to offices. I’m noticing that after working with people for years in an office, I knew them better – their nerves before a presentation, their ability to set new people at ease, their grandma’s soup recipe, their knack for deadpan humor – and that made my life better. While many of my coworkers collaborate with each other daily through pair programming, design critiques, or iteration planning meetings, my work on a small People Team has always been less collaborative. For me, fewer organic in-person interactions means fewer interactions of any kind at work. The decline in ad-hoc opportunities for connecting impacts us all differently, but I am particularly interested because an aspect of my role at Viget is to nurture a strong company culture. For us that means a culture where we do excellent work, learn a lot, support each other, and – yes – make some friends. I’m looking for ways we can adapt our employee engagement efforts to the new work environment and evolve how we cultivate alignment.The concept of "bids for connection" seems useful for understanding the building blocks of connection and, over time, friendships. As a mostly remote company, I want to be sure we’re asking: How do people make bids? How do others respond to them? What parts of the work environment encourage us to turn towards a bid? Bids While DistributedThere needs to be “space” for these interactions to happen across a distributed company, and we need to notice what is working and why. One opportunity for bids to play out is in recurring meetings. At Viget, we try to be efficient with our time, but we also build in time for informal interactions. Daily Stand-up MeetingsThe discipline and project teams that do daily stand-ups are careful to keep them brief. These meetings need to be reliably quick-paced in order to fulfill their purpose. Still, without sacrificing efficiency, these meetings can spark strong bids for connection. Sharing work updates in small, daily increments encourages people to open up about specific elements of their progress. The specificity allows for connection in ways that broad strokes do not. Hearing someone say, “Progress was slow, but I’m finally done with the feature,” I might respond, “Oh, good.” But hearing someone say, “If I don’t figure out how to debug this API integration by noon, we need to update the launch timeline," gives me a chance to be curious, helpful, and invested in something very specific. Weekly All-Hands MeetingEvery Friday, our whole company meets for about an hour. The first 15 minutes are deliberately set aside for informal conversations and sharing, which mostly happens over Slack. We often play music or show a live stream of something noteworthy, like an eagle’s nest, to which we can react. Someone might share where they were when they first heard this song. Someone else might reveal they are an experienced falconer. The whole company gets a chance to see or hear these things, and while only a handful may react, we are all building shared awareness and memories.Monthly Team MeetingDuring a team meeting, a small group of same-discipline-peers comes together to talk shop, share lessons learned, or bond. These meetings allow for exercises that don’t scale to a whole company – like getting feedback or planning progress – and over time, certain activities can become team favorites. A monthly “rose, bud, thorn” or an annual “sharing circle” ritual prompts people to share in ways that otherwise might feel too awkward or vulnerable. Another way to make and respond to bids for connection across locations is on Slack. Different kinds of Slack channels offer different kinds of opportunities.Interest-based Slack ChannelsAt Viget we have channels like #woodworking, #sewing, #starwars, #hot-sauce, #gardening, #home-improvement, and many, many more. These types of channels allow people to go deeper than they might in more general channels. You know you’re talking to like-minded people, so why not dive fully into your opinion on robot vacuum cleaners?"Random" Slack ChannelIn our #random channel, I’ve seen everything from a heads up on free Firehouse subs to a recommendation for an estate planning system. The responses vary, too – sometimes they spark day-long conversations. At a minimum, posts will get a smattering of emoji responses and the impact can be significant. For example, a post might get a sympathetic :heart: but then a couple :same: or :it-me: come in and before you know it, there’s a subset of coworkers who realize they share the same rare phobia. I also think a share in #random can signal, “I’m between tasks. I’m open to distractions right now,” and folks can follow up with a DM.Project-Specific Slack ChannelIn channels where everyone is working on the same project with shared goals, stresses, and deadlines, we might see bids that build momentum. A PM might post something in the morning to encourage the team to rally behind a tough deadline. A designer might post mid-week, acknowledging the drudgery of certain tasks, implicitly giving everyone else permission to do the same. A developer might be slowly building a little arsenal of inside jokes and call-backs over weeks, dropping a note at just the right time to get others laughing. Someone might turn one of those jokes into a custom emoji that lives well beyond the project timeline and every time that inside-joke-emoji gets used, it's a bid for folks who worked on that team to recognize each other and reconnect. Recognizing BidsWe all grew up learning in-person social norms and have a mostly shared understanding of what’s considered warm, polite, stand-off-ish, or rude in the workplace. Now that we’re distributed, we may need to learn to recognize new signals and define new norms. A bid is an action that invites connection, but sometimes the action is so small, we might not notice it or realize it has potential value. Understanding the concept of bids can help us notice them and respond with more awareness. If we train ourselves to see bids for what they are and respond accordingly, we may get more mileage out of the limited impromptu interactions we have as remote coworkers. Actions like responding to an open-ended question in a Slack channel or acknowledging someone’s request for help during a meeting go a long way. Each response builds trust and camaraderie, even if in tiny doses. When a comment or question is ignored or dismissed, the negative effect is compounding; that person is less likely to reach out again.Adam Grant said sharing memes and links are a way to invite someone to share in your joy. At a distributed company, “bids” take a lot of different shapes, but they all communicate things like, “I am here,” and “let’s work together,” and “you can trust me.”I’m encouraged to think we already have some infrastructure in place at Viget to support remote bids for connection. I’m excited to work with Aubrey Lear and others to find ways to evolve that infrastructure. We’ll continue to hire people who want to develop friendships with coworkers and who are willing to take personal responsibility for making and turning towards bids. Together, we can make sure Viget remains a great place to work as the workplace continues to evolve. Full Article News & Culture Employee Engagement
ed 10 Things I Learned in My 10 Weeks at Viget By www.viget.com Published On :: Wed, 07 Aug 2024 09:56:00 -0400 This summer, I was the Application Developer Intern at Viget. This being my first internship, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I learned. Rather than being tasked with fetching coffee or doing busy work, the internship focused primarily on our growth and development as interns. As my time at Viget comes to a close, I wanted to reflect on ten key things I learned during my experience here.Following the real-world development cycleGoing into this internship, my development process involved me sitting down and coding until the feature was completed, and that's it. During this internship, I learned and practiced the development cycle used at Viget. For each feature, I created a Branch. Then, I submitted a Pull Request once it was completed. After that, my advisor reviewed my code and gave feedback. Once I had completed the requested changes (if any), I would rebase and merge into the main branch. This cycle made the code cleaner, and the feedback on my code always ensured I was going in the right direction.Maintaining a clean git historyDuring my development process at Viget, my advisor ensured I took the necessary steps to maintain a clean git history in my projects. I put the corresponding issue number next to each git commit and pull request. This made it much easier to see which commits belonged to which feature when reviewing git history. I also learned to always use “rebase and merge” rather than “create a merge commit” when merging a pull request. This helped when reviewing git history as merge commits make it much more difficult to understand what’s going on, and rebase and merge provided a clean git history.Getting introduced to DevOpsNevin Morgan hosted a MicroClass where he went over the basics of DevOps. Going in, I didn’t know much about DevOps, but the class gave me a solid understanding of the basics. DevOps is a combination of philosophies, practices, and tools designed to improve the speed of development. Their responsibilities include:Keeping Communication clear for development teamsMaking sure teams continue collaboratingEnsuring deployments are quick and reliableI also got the chance to pair with Nevin when he set up AWS deployment for one of my projects, and when he was setting up Grafana for Viget. Getting to see DevOps in action gave me a good idea of what goes into being part of the DevOps team.Learning to work with clientsAt the start of our intern group project, Nathan Long gave us a presentation on what it's like to work with clients. He covered the typical client project cycle, client presentations, and how to handle client feedback. For our project, we simulated a client relationship with Viget as our client. They provided us with their requirements, and me and the other interns planned out the details of what we would deliver. Throughout the process, we gave several client presentations, received valuable feedback, and iterated on our product. Two weeks later, we had a finished product, which we presented to the client in a live demo. This whole process was designed to mimic what Viget goes through with real clients, and seeing the different perspective required when working with clients was really eye-opening for me.Exploring digital accessibilityNathan Schmidt hosted a MicroClass for the interns on Accessibility. He gave us an overview of what digital accessibility is and who it impacts. I learned that digital accessibility is the lens through which we ensure that people of all abilities, and particularly those with disabilities, are able to engage with the digital world. Every website is graded to a level set from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These guidelines include video captions, text size, color contrast, and many more requirements. It is the industry standard to follow these WCAG guidelines so that your website can be accessible to a broad range of consumers.Building confidence in public speakingWhen the summer began and I learned that I would need to present to the entire company, I felt intimidated. Public speaking has always been a source of anxiety for me, but I had numerous opportunities to work on this skill. Throughout the summer, I became increasingly confident. First, my fellow interns and I presented our group project to everyone at Viget at the company-wide all hands meeting known as TTT. I presented my personal project to the Dev team, discussing the libraries I used and walking through my code. The most significant presentation I delivered was my final one, where I spoke to everyone at Viget about my Gap Year through a Viget Tradition known as LabShares. Public speaking is a skill that improves with practice, and the various opportunities I had greatly boosted my confidence in this area.Diving into Vanilla JavaScriptGoing into this summer, I had never written a line of JavaScript in my life. I quickly learned that JavaScript is essential if you’re going to work in web development. On my personal project, which was an audio sharing social media app, I had a for you page, and I wanted to make the page update as soon as the user went to the next sound. This would require me to write JavaScript. I went through and wrote Vanilla JavaScript to update all the necessary information from the server's response. Although it was a challenging and tedious process, it significantly enhanced my understanding of how websites work and the role of JavaScript in web development.Getting my feet wet with RailsFor the first half of the internship, I got my foothold in Ruby on Rails. This was my first time writing in Ruby, so there was a bit of a learning curve. I started with the Rails tutorial and then made a Hacker News clone. This exposed me to a broad range of the application stack and got me prepared for the Intern project, where I also used Rails. I found Rails’ Model, View, Controller setup to be very intuitive, so the learning process was relatively painless.Discovering the benefits of TailwindBeing the only Application Developer Intern, my focus throughout the internship was primarily on the back-end. However, I did have the chance to use Tailwind for the first time during my personal project. The biggest thing that stuck out to me was how it was convenient to not have to go through and change the stylesheets myself. With Tailwind's utility-first approach, you can quickly apply predefined classes for spacing, colors, typography, and more, without having to write custom CSS. This makes it much faster to prototype and iterate on designs, as you can see changes immediately by simply adjusting the class names in your HTML.Exploring the Basics of ReactChris Manning hosted a MicroClass on React. I had never actually used React, but he made the class very beginner friendly. React is a JavaScript library, whose main strength is how dynamically it responds to user input and cascades UI changes. Chris went over JSX and React components, props, children, and state memory. I didn’t have time to actually write any React this summer, but I appreciate that Chris hosted this class after I said React was something I was interested in!Reflecting on what I’ve learned here at Viget, I realize how invaluable this experience has been for both my personal and professional growth. From learning Rails and JavaScript, to understanding the intricacies of client relationships, I've gained a wealth of knowledge that extends far beyond technical skills. The opportunity to work alongside experienced professionals and receive constructive feedback has been a huge source of development for me. As I move forward, I am excited to apply these lessons and continue exploring the world of Software Development, confident in the foundation this internship has provided. Full Article Code News & Culture Back-end Engineering Internships and Apprenticeships
ed Affinity Acquired by Canva.com By www.beyondphototips.com Published On :: Tue, 26 Mar 2024 10:34:07 +0000 This post: Affinity Acquired by Canva.com was first published on Beyond Photo Tips by Susheel Chandradhas Today, Affinity and Canva, together announced the acquisition of Serif, the makers of the Affinity apps, by Canva. This is a significant development in the progress of the Affinity suite, and we are both excited, and hesitant at this development. What Is Affinity? Affinity is a suite of apps that allows designers, photographers, and publishers […] This post: Affinity Acquired by Canva.com was first published on Beyond Photo Tips Full Article Affinity Photo Acquisition Affinity Canva