February 25, 2009 — Rails is an model-view-controller Web framework written in the Ruby programming language. One of its great appeals is being able to quickly crank out CRUD-based Web applications. A big advantage of Rails over other frameworks is that it values convention over configuration. If you follow the correct conventions, you can avoid lengthy configuration of files, and things just work! Therefore, you spend less time writing boring config files and more time focusing on business logic. Read more…

February 22, 2009 — Since the advent (and in turn, massive success) of “TV on DVD”, television programming has really upped the ante in production value. Now-a-days it seems every show is presented in glorious high definition with big name actors and well-structured story telling. But there is another significant improvement in television over the last few years that could use some recognition: the title sequence. Long gone are the days of cheesy video montages involving “memorable” moments from seasons past, coupled with tacky music you can’t get out of your head… yes I’m looking at you, Golden Girls. Today, the credit sequences on television are so visually pleasing that even though we possess the technology to skip past them, we don’t. They’re that captivating. It is in recognition of these amazing television title sequences that we’ve compiled our favorite 20 Brilliant TV Show Title Sequences. You may want to take a look at the following related articles: * 50 Incredible Stop-Motion Videos * 30 Unforgettable Movie Opening Sequences * 60 Beautiful Music Videos * 29 Brilliant Music Videos Read more…

February 22, 2009 — Digital space art is one of the most inventive and beautiful art genres of this era. This tutorial shows you how to create your own space scene using three stock photos and Adobe Photoshop. The majority of the effects use the brush tool, layer effects and the filter gallery. You may want to set aside an hour or two before starting this tutorial because it requires quite a bit of work to accomplish. So get those creative juices flowing and let’s get started! Read more…

February 19, 2009 — In website design, there are an endless amount of possibilities, styles and techniques that can be used to make a beautiful design that flows with the content. One of these styles is an illustration-heavy layout, which can take a website to a whole new level. Illustrations are becoming more and more popular, and some designers are really pushing the limits with some beautiful ones. Read more…

February 19, 2009 — By now, all good designers and developers realize the importance of usability for their work. Usable websites offer great user experiences, and great user experiences lead to happy customers. Delight and satisfy your visitors, rather than frustrate and annoy them, with smart design decisions. Here are 9 usability problems that websites commonly face, and some recommended solutions for each of them. Read more…

February 17, 2009 — A camera does not work like an eye; film does not work like memory. There is a fine line between a photo that is quite nice and one that is quite breathtaking. At some unknown point, a photo can cross the Rubicon and be forever a piece of beautiful art. That hinterland between a regular photo and evocative art is a shifting area from person to person and taste to taste. However, that zone can be narrowed a bit once you start to consider the way the brain stores memories and emotions. Read more…

February 17, 2009 — When it comes to freebie designs, beautiful icons sets are tops. Designers scour for these free treasures more than anything else. You can use icon sets in Web applications, website designs and on your desktop. If well designed, they make a great impression on others. Beautifully designed icons also prove the quality of a designer’s work, so many designers make theirs freely available online, thus giving their work more exposure. In the overview below, we present 50 beautifully designed, free and professional high-quality icons for desktop and Web design. All of them can be freely used for private projects, and some are available for commercial use as well. Regardless, always read the licenses – they may change from time to time. You can also scan through our other icon-related articles: * 40 Professional Icon Sets for Free Download
Download some fresh, professional icon goodies. * 35 (Really) Incredible Free Icon Sets
Spice up your posts with nice illustrations, or enrich your desktop with outstanding dock icons. * Icons for Your Desktop and Icons for Your Web Designs
High-quality free icons that you can use for your desktop and Web designs. * 20 Free and Fresh Icon Sets
Over 20 free beautiful sets and links to other free icon libraries. Read more…

February 15, 2009 — Animal photography is probably one of the most dangerous types of photography. The outcome totally depends on the skills of photographer and the time when the shot is taken. A photographer who uses good exposure, color and blur settings along with appropriate shutter speed and focusing techniques can produce stunning photographs. Read more…

February 14, 2009 — A photoblog is a very specific type of blog. Its focus is photography, and there are typically few words beyond a caption and comments. Photoblogs are easy to set up and maintain, and they make great photo galleries for photographers who are put off by the complexity of HTML coding or installing a CMS such as WordPress. Read more…

February 13, 2009 — With the wide variety and high quality of resources such as brushes, pattern and shapes available for Photoshop users, whatever you need or are looking for is already available somewhere. However, the vast quantity of freebies can make it difficult to track down what you need. The resources featured here will hopefully help, and are all available as downloads in PAT format, which can be placed in Photoshop. As with any type of freebie, always be sure to check the license or requirements set by the creator. Read more…