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New Basecamp vs Basecamp Classic

New Basecamp vs Basecamp Classic

After the rumours and the wait, 37Signals’ online Project Management application Basecamp has been relaunched in an all-new fashion for 2012.  Called “New Basecamp” (as opposed to Basecamp Classic), the new version was also known as Basecamp Next and is being touted as a separate product to Basecamp Classic.

The main difference for me is the completely revamped UI which regular users of Basecamp will also appreciate.  Classic has been getting on a bit and is seeing competition in the cloud project management arena with Wunderkinder’s Wunderkit amongst others so 37Signals have been under increased pressure to add a lick of paint.

I’m not yet sure if a split in the product offering is a good one, with New Basecamp currently free to try for 90 days.  I’ll give it a go but if the cost increase is considerably more for no real obvious feature benefits then I’ll probably stick with Classic.  Read More…

Christmas Card for 2011

Truth be told, I don’t have much time for traditional paper based Christmas cards.  I appreciate the sentiment, but lets be honest with ourselves, cards are expensive, as is the postage and come the New Year all the cards go into the recycling bin at best.

As someone that offers web development services, it only seemed fitting that I send a digital e-card to my clients.  Not one of those dancing elf monstrosities, or a cobbled-together-in-5-minutes-because-we-forgot-to-get-cards-in-the-post type affair, but a bona-fide bespoke Christmas card.  Then for good measure and a warm feeling inside, a hand-picked charity donation to a cause I’ve supported for a few years – Cats Protection

Last year I got in touch with local designer Liz Elcoate from Capriccio Design who produced a great art-deco “chat noir” style design.

This year I gave Liz the brief of something 50′s inspired, Christmassey and with the obligatory cat (in case you wondered, my company is called Gattonero – Italian for “black cat”).  Here’s the finished design which I’m really pleased with:

Gattonero black cat christmas card

Add some glamour to your gadgets

I’ve long had an affection for stickers.  As a child I would rush to the local newsagent armed with my pocket money to choose whichever pack of stickers was flavour of that particular month (failing to complete the Panini 86 World Cup album was probably the reason why I care little for Football these days).   But sadly my life has been void of stickers now for many years… until last Saturday when a trip up to Leeds for the Think Visibility conference introduced me to Gadget Glamour, a company that specialises in customising (or glamorising) your gadgets (mainly Apple gadgets) with a range of stickers, skins and cases.

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How to: Include external PHP file in WordPress

So, you want to include (also include_once, require or require_once) another PHP file in one of your WordPress files?  Fine, but if your PHP file is in a different folder/directory to your WordPress installation you might run into problems.

After spending too long trawling the WordPress Codex trying to find a solution, I luckily found this post by Andy Fletcher – How to use a PHP include with WordPress

ABSPATH is your friend and the answer to your prayers.   For example, assume your PHP files are in a folder off your web root called “thefolder”, you would include them using:

<?php include(ABSPATH . '/thefolder/thefile.php'); ?>

Simple when you know how.

Beginner’s Guide to CMS Made Simple 1.6

As a web developer I use a variety of Content Management Systems (CMS), either a bespoke solution I develop myself or more commonly an off the shelf (normally) Open Source platform.

I’ve been using the excellent CMS Made Simple for a couple of years now with great results (don’t let the “simple” in the name fool you, this is a feature-rich application) so when I was asked if I would like to review a copy of CMS Made Simple 1.6: Beginner’s Guide by Sofia Hauschildt I jumped at the chance.

Embarrassingly, I’ve had this copy of the book sitting by my desk for a couple of months but have been so busy with work I’ve not had the chance to flick past the first few pages.  However, now I’ve got some new CMSMS projects in the pipeline I’m looking forward to getting into the book and seeing what it can offer. Read More…

Inadequacies of Android Market

It’s that time again – my mobile phone handset is due to be replaced by something sleeker, flashier and most likely touch-screenier.  It doesn’t take a genius to guess that I’ll be mentioning that phone from Apple…

The Apple phone has been on my shortlist since here and here but I opted instead to stick with Orange and go for the Nokia N95.  It wasn’t a bad decision and I even grew to rate the handset but things have moved on, Android has become much more of an established platform and I’m (once again) torn between the Apple phone and something else.

The something else in this case is likely to be the HTC Hero or maybe the Samsung Galaxy (although for me the Sense UI on the Hero is more in tune with how I want to use the phone) and apart from a few minor Pro’s that the Hero has over the Apple device (better camera and is available on my existing network) both are pretty much level in suitability.  That is apart from the applications…

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