Inerd Hussein - tagged with free

15 Awesome tutorials and resources for web developers

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 09:49:00 -0600

A new week is coming and in this post I want to suggest you some interesting tutorials and resources for web developers I bookmarked this week. If you want to suggest a link, please leave a comment.1. InfoVis ToolkitThe JavaScript InfoVis Toolkit provides tools for creating Interactive Data Visualizations for the Web. It supports multiple data representations: treemaps, radial layouts, hypertrees/graphs, spacetree-like layouts, and more.2. VaadinVaadin is a Java framework for building modern web applications that look great, perform well and make your user happy.3. Flip!Flip is a jQuery plugin for jquery that will flip HTML elements in four directions. It's really simple to implement and customize.4. UploadifyUploadify is a jQuery plugin that allows the easy integration of a multiple (or single) file uploads on your website. It requires Flash and any backend development language. An array of options allow for full customization for advanced users, but basic implementation is so easy that even coding novices can do it.5. Create a Twitter-Like "Load More" WidgetBoth Twitter and the Apple App Store use a brilliant technique for loading more information; you click the link and fresh items magically appear on the screen. This tutorial teaches you to use AJAX, CSS, Javascript, JSON, PHP, and HTML to create that magic. This tutorial will also feature both jQuery and MooTools versions of the script.6. FullCalendarFullCalendar is a jQuery plugin that provides a full-sized, drag & drop calendar like the one below. It uses AJAX to fetch events on-the-fly for each month and is easily configured to use your own feed format (an extension is provided for Google Calendar). It is visually customizable and exposes hooks for user-triggered events (like clicking or dragging an event).7. HTML5 drag and drop in Firefox 3.5In this tutorial you can learn HTML 5 specification section on new drag-and-drop events, and Firefox 3.5 with an included implementation of those events.8. Music Player with mouse gesturesThis tutorial illustrates how to implement an amazing music player using mouse gestures & hotkeys in jQuery. You can Click & Drag with mouse to interact with interface’s music player or use directional keys & spacebar instead of mouse.9. jQuery Image MagnifyjQuery Image Magnify enables any image on the page to be magnified by a desired factor when clicked on, via a sleek zoom in/out effect. The enlarged image is centered on the user's screen until dismissed. It works on both images with and without explicit width/height attributes defined.10. Creating a Keyboard with CSS and jQuerySometimes it's just fun to play around with the programming languages we know and see what we can create. It might be nice to create a little online keyboard with CSS, and then make it work with jQuery. The keyboard includes "action" keys (caps lock, shift, and delete) which dynamically changes the keyboard when clicked. This tutorial it'll show you how to build it.11. Img NotesImg Notes is an useful jQuery plug-in to add notes over images in a Flickr-like style. It's simple to implement and customize.12. WriteMapsWriteMaps is a free web-based tool that allows you to create, edit, and share sitemaps online. As a WriteMaps user, you and your team will be able to build and access your sitemaps from anywhere, without having to rely on proprietary desktop apps and static files.13. Simple vibration effect for your form box with jQueryThis effect can be used to validate certain criteria in your form. Other than using highlighter to highlight the error area, we can use a more creativity approach by vibrating that particular input box to alert the user. This tutorial demonstrate a very easy way to understanding how vibration works on the web and how it can be used in your web design.14. epiClockepiClock is an extremely lightweight jQuery plugin which gives users the ability to easily create and manage any number of javascript powered clocks.15. ThickBoxThickBox is a webpage UI dialog widget written in JavaScript on top of the jQuery library. Its function is to show a single image, multiple images, inline content, iframed content, or content served through AJAX in a hybrid modal.

8 Interesting Adobe AIR applications for web lovers

Wed, 06 May 2009 10:02:00 -0600

I like Adobe AIR. With AIR you can develope rich internet applications that run outside the browser on multiple operating systems. In this post I want to share with you some really interesting Adobe AIR applications for web lovers: this list includes some social-network clients, developer tools, and mashup applications.1. TIME 100 desktop applicationTIME 100 allows you to access to the complete archive of past and present honorees on the TIME 100 annual list of the “World's Most Influential People”.I think it's one of the most interesting applications actually in circulation. Take it a look!2. DestroyTwitterDestroyTwitter is a robust but compact Twitter application built on the Adobe AIR platform. It consists of a series of canvases that constantly update to keep tweets current and up-to-date using notifications that appear immediately after a new tweet arrives.DestroyTwitter also features complete direct messaging functionality. Messages and tweets can be replied to with the original visible for quick and easy reference. A search function is also available to track anything that's being talked about.3. FeedalizrFeedalizr is a social media desktop client that keeps track of updates from friendfeed, twitter, facebook, Flickr, Twitpic & jaiku. It offers full support for these services so that users can interact, i.e. comment, like, favorite, tweet, reply etc. and their updates are instantly reflected on the services website and added to their stream.4. SkimmerSkimmer is an Adobe AIR desktop application designed to streamline, beautify, and enhance the experience of participating in your most frequently used social networking activities.It improves upon your day-to-day interaction with multiple social networks, removing distractions and providing a rich experience that is particularly suited to multimedia content.5. Icon GeneratorIcon Generator is a little application that lets you generate a CS3 or Web 2.0 style icon, only 3 step. Pick color, type characters, and save it. Just create 4 different sizes of the icon.6. Kuler DesktopKuler is an online application to create and share color harmonies. With this AIR application you can search and import Kuler themes directly into Creative Suite 3 Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop.You can also view the highest tated, most popular, newest, and randomly selected themes. Drag and drop themes as transparent "tear offs," to scale and view over any application.7. Lita Lita is an administration interface for SQLite databases. It lets you edit your databases structure and data in a dedicated environment.With Lita you can open, create, compact databases; create, rename, delete, and empty tables; Easily run, import and export your custom SQL statements.8. BookmashBookmash is a mashup application which allows you to find quickly videos, music, photos, people and news on line.Any suggestions about other interesting AIR applications? Please leave a comment!

Smashing Retro Icon Set

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:30:00 -0700

Over the last few months, we have extensively covered the influence of retro and vintage style on modern Web design. We have looked at recent vintage Web designs, showcased posters and typography and presented vintage tutorials. In fact, we are confident that vintage is still in, and that many designers are experimenting with this style to achieve unusual, creative and (hopefully) effective results. So today, we are pleased to release the Smashing Retro Icon Set, a set of 10 beautiful, high-quality “vintage” icons, created by the talented Russian design agency SoftFacade especially for Smashing Magazine and its readers. The set contains 10 original icons: search, sign-up, calendar, news, RSS, comments, email, ads, home and address.

Download the set for free! You can use the set for free and without any restrictions in both your private and commercial projects, including software, online services, templates and themes. The set may not be resold, sub-licensed, rented, transferred or otherwise made available for use. Please link to this article if you would like to spread the word.

Download the set (.zip, ICO and PNG, 9.3 MB)

Thank you, guys. We really appreciate your efforts! (al)

Post tags: downloads, free, Freebies, Graphics, icons

50 Free Rusted Metal Texture Backgrounds

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:45:00 -0700

If you ever heard the phrase ‘you can find inspiration everywhere you look’, then this article is for you. Today we look at rusted metal textures as both an unusual source of inspiration as well as an option for unique backgrounds. Textured backgrounds are a great way to add an extra dimension to any graphic design project. Magazines and printed media can resort to textured paper for added impact however, this is impossible to do on the web, and the closest we can do is adding texture to simulate this effect. We’ve compiled a list of 50 free rust metal texture backgrounds that will really look great on your websites, blogs, Twitter backgrounds or even wallpapers. Most of these are available under a Creative Commons License requiring attribution however, check each source for any specific details.

Source: GrungeTextures

Source: Flickr

Source: GrungeTextures

Source: Flickr

Source: GrungeTextures

Source: Flickr

Source: GrungeTextures

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr Have you used textures like these in your projects? We’d love to see them, please post your links below…

Desktop Wallpaper Calendar: January 2009

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:48:00 -0700

Desktop wallpapers can serve as an excellent source of inspiration. However, if you use some specific wallpaper for a long period of time, it becomes harder to draw inspiration out of it. That’s why we have decided to supply you with smashing wallpapers over 12 months. And to make them a little bit more distinctive from the usual crowd, we’ve decided to embed calendars for the upcoming month. So if you need to look up some date, isn’t it better to show off a nice wallpaper with a nice calendar instead of launching some default time application? This post features 40 free desktop wallpapers, created by designers across the globe. Both versions with a calendar and without a calendar can be downloaded for free. Please notice:

all images can be clicked and lead to the preview of the wallpaper; you can feature your work in our magazine by taking part in our desktop wallpaper calendar series. We are regularly looking for creative designers and artists to be featured on Smashing Magazine. Are you one of them?

So which wallpapers have we received for January 2009? In With The New "I know that you require entrants to send in their work at least 2 days early and I admit that this is pushing it. I know that you’ll do your best as this took a fair bit of time hence the late entry. This entry basically reflects releasing the old and embracing the new. The whole concept is revolving around something big and embracing it as well as accepting it with style." Designed by Umer Tahir from Calgary, Canada.