chrisjason.com:: the web made simple

Microdata in HTML5 and what it means for technology

Christopher Jason — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 03:19:51 +0000

Fresh off an opportunity to help shape early use of Microdata in Google, let's talk about some ways Microdata might be used in the future and its overall potential for driving innovation in technology.

The Sony PS3 hacker debacle and their Welcome Back plan

Christopher Jason — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 04:58:49 +0000

Sony launched a large effort this weekend to entice video gamers back to their Playstation Network with free games, downloads, and movies following the recent security issues that crippled their online game service. But even this smart effort was filled with bugs and disappointment.

ESPN.com launches new navigation and search features

Christopher Jason — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 02:52:34 +0000

ESPN.com recently launched a series of new features aimed at improving the navigation experience on the site, including a customizable navigation bar and new search product.

Google Webmaster Tools now allows multiple site owners

Christopher Jason — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 15:09:57 +0000

Google recently released an update to Webmaster Tools that allows multiple email accounts access for a single Web site.

Amazon Kindle for Christmas: My personal product review

Christopher Jason — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:53:13 +0000

My personal review of the Amazon Kindle after a couple days of use.

How to request your PS3 streaming Blu Ray disc from Netflix

Christopher Jason — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:21:44 +0000

For some reason, requesting the Blu Ray disc to play streaming movies on a Playstation 3 is a little more difficult than it should be. Read this article to get your disc in the mail ASAP.

Block Facebook status updates from people annoying you

Christopher Jason — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:34:47 +0000

Facebook status updates driving you crazy? Read this article to learn how to block/hide updates from the worst offenders ruining your Facebook experience.

Plasma TVs going away? I hope not

Christopher Jason — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:29:33 +0000

Are plasma TVs realling dying? A recent article says they are, and Pioneer has already stopped production.

5 easy ways to increase website traffic

Christopher Jason — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 23:09:46 +0000

The most common complaint I've heard from website owners is that no one visits their site. They've been online for years and still do not get registrations, sales, or even email feedback. While this is a challenge most websites face, the good news is that the reason is very simple-- nobody knows their site exists. Here are 5 cheap, easy ways to increase Website traffic and raise awareness of your content, product, or service.

Web hosting from hell: One key tip to prepare for the worst

Christopher Jason — Fri, 25 May 2007 04:39:25 +0000

One of the things I'm most familiar with on the Web is Web hosting companies-- choosing them, working with them, yelling at them, comparing their services... After the last week of what could only be described as "the Web hosting experience from hell," I'm now well-versed in leaving them too. Consider this article my Public Service Announcement on a bad Web hosting company. If you read until the end, you'll find out which well-known company wins the award for "most terrible large-scale Web hosting company." If you don't, you'll just get my angry rant. Either way, this should be informative.

The top 5 dumbest things Web developers do today

Christopher Jason — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 15:03:24 +0000

The Web is certainly much different in 2007 than it was in 1997 when I created my first Web site. There were things back then that were really annoying (under construction .gifs, blinking text, and ugly frames)... I certainly contributed to the ugliness. But 2007 has its share of terrible Web practices too. That got me thinking: what bothers me the most about Web pages today? Here's my top 5 list of the poorest things Web developers are doing in 2007.

Parse a string using JavaScript

Christopher Jason — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 18:00:41 +0000

A handy trick for Web Developers in the ability to parse a string to check for a given substring. In plain English, this means checking if a word or part of a word is contained within text. This tutorial demonstrates how to do this using JavaScript.

Creating a simple, 1-page PHP mail, contact, or feedback form

Christopher Jason — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:13:37 +0000

With some clever coding, you can bypass the need to submit form data from one page to another and instead manage an entire PHP form application in one file. By posting form data to the same page, complex form maintenance becomes very simple.

What’s the difference between HTML and XHTML?

Christopher Jason — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 19:29:39 +0000

If you’ve mastered HTML, you’re 90% of the way towards using XHTML. They’re actually very much the same thing—tag-based markup languages used to display Web pages. The difference is only seen by the people creating the pages (Web designers, programmers, etc.) and focuses on “forgivability”— HTML allows for some ugly code (mixed case tags like <BoDy>, improperly nested elements, and unclosed tags), while XHTML does not. If you write HTML, it’s probably a good idea to start using XHTML practices anyway. It will take 5 minutes to learn, and it’s just a better way of doing things.

Using comments in PHP

Christopher Jason — Wed, 31 May 2006 20:16:30 +0000

If you’ve ever had to work through another programmer’s code to complete a project, you probably understand the importance of commenting code. This quick tutorial shows the 3 different ways to comment your code in PHP.

Use PHP to strip the last character in a string

Christopher Jason — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 15:09:06 +0000

Whether you’re working with a string created from a database query or array, here’s a cool trick to strip the last character (comma) of a comma separated list of values using PHP.

CSS Link Styles

Christopher Jason — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 01:02:42 +0000

One of the easiest, yet most interactive, elements you can add to your Web site is dynamic link text—links that change their appearance once the user puts their cursor over them.

Fix the Windows XP NVIDIA nv4_disp problem

Christopher Jason — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 01:12:26 +0000

Here’s an annoyance that found me today—the sinister “nv4_disp” problem. Hopefully my fix will allow you to bypass any aggravation, unnecessary purchases, technician costs, or therapy.

What’s the difference between and
tags?

Christopher Jason — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 17:31:56 +0000

<span> and <div> tags both allow a Web designer to style text and add other formatting attributes to their Web page. They are not interchangeable tags, though. <div> tags are block-level elements, whereas <span> tags are not. This article explains this, and other differences, between <span> and <div> tags.

What’s a web hosting company?

Christopher Jason — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 02:40:32 +0000

If you’re a small business owner or have any plans of bringing your business online, one phrase you’ll need to become familiar with is “Web host.” A Web host is simply a company that allows you to make your website available to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Horizontally center layout in CSS

Christopher Jason — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 01:38:46 +0000

A good way of dealing with users on different screen resolutions is to center your Web design horizontally. This will ensure, regardless of the user’s screen size, that there is an equal amount of space to the left and right of the main design area, producing an overall "fuller" look to your site.

Prevent files from being indexed with robots.txt

Christopher Jason — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 01:45:45 +0000

It is common to publish Web pages, images, and other files on your Web site that you do not want everyone to see. By using robots.txt, you can make broad declarations about which files are browsed by robots (and potentially found by users) and which files are hidden (unless you tell someone exactly where they are!).

Write the current date using JavaScript

Christopher Jason — Sun, 27 Nov 2005 19:13:13 +0000

Using the date() object in JavaScript, we can print the current date in a variety of popular formats.

Using basic CSS in Web pages

Christopher Jason — Sun, 13 Nov 2005 15:59:43 +0000

In a previous article, I answered the question of, "What is Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and why should you use it?" In this article, I’ll show how to use basic CSS in your Web pages.

What is CSS and why should you use it?

Christopher Jason — Sat, 05 Nov 2005 16:28:52 +0000

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. It is a markup language used to format the “look” of web pages. This includes overall layout, text size, style, and formatting, table formatting, link properties, and more. When used correctly, CSS allows one to define the look of an entire site in one single document. If you’re a Web person who doesn’t already utilize CSS, you should be very excited right now, as it can quickly become your new best friend.

Using PHP includes

Christopher Jason — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 00:59:34 +0000

By using PHP server-side includes, you can greatly increase the scalability and ease of maintenance of your Website.

Tips for email communication in the workplace

Christopher Jason — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 23:01:26 +0000

Email has become second nature for many people. While it is quick and easy to communicate with friends, family, and colleagues via email, there are several things to keep in mind when sending email in a business environment. Follow these suggestions and you’ll be less likely to be called in to your boss’ office for a “talk.”

Redirect users to a new page with ASP

Christopher Jason — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 01:14:58 +0000

ASP makes it easy to redirect a user to another page. This is a useful trick for redirecting users after form submissions, protecting content on your site by redirecting users to a login page, and pointing an old page address to a new one.

String manipulation in PHP

Christopher Jason — Sat, 08 Oct 2005 18:36:00 +0000

The ability to manipulate string variables in PHP is extremely helpful. This tutorial will outline some of the more common situations you’ll encounter when working with PHP string variables.

Using include files with ASP.NET

Christopher Jason — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 13:58:12 +0000

An ASP.NET include, or server-side include, is a plain HTML, HTML/ASP.NET, or ASP.NET-only file that sits outside of a parent Web page. The power of a simple include file is tremendous—it allows you to re-use content that will appear on multiple pages throughout your site. Instead of making the same change 100 times to update 100 pages, you could use an include, update the include file once and have the change populated across all 100 pages. Nice, huh?