10 years ago today I set off on my travels for my first whole day community event. (Obviously it was called a MamboDay and not a JoomlaDay back then as it was six months before the "spork"). Looking back on that event it is great for me to see that I am still good friends with many of the people who were there that day.
Stop Right There
Stop right there, I gotta know right now, Before we go any further
Are you prepared for a long read that will shock and enrage you. A tale so fantastical that it is hard to believe but one I can assure you is 100% true and told without embellishment or exaggeration.
Have you removed all sharp objects from your desk? Are you sitting in a comfortable chair with a soft cushion or toy nearby? You will need to be prepared for the facepalm moments below.
I love Joomla, I love the power and flexibility that Joomla gives me. I love the way that I can customise everything in Joomla.
I read the documentation. I update everything as soon as possible. I take automatic backups daily. I customise every little thing that I can. I am the 1%.
Chances are that if you are reading this then you are part of the 1% as well.
I have spoken in public perhaps over hundred times and yet before every presentation my hands shake and I have a funny feeling in my stomach. If I have to use a hand-held microphone you will even be able to see the shake.
This is not nerves or me being afraid. This is adrenaline pumping through my body. This is perfectly normal so I just accept it and go ahead with the presentation.
Joomla 3.4 was released last month and just as with every major Joomla release there were beta and release candidates made available for testing over the preceding weeks. Those special releases are made specifically for Joomla developers to use to both test the changes in the upcoming release AND to check that their own code is still working as intended.
For a long time Joomla has included a very powerful component to handle url redirects. This is especially useful after a site upgrade or redesign. Don't know how to use it? Check this great article explaining all the features by Ruth Cheesley in the Joomla Community magazine.
However it had a problem which probably meant that you looked at it, set it up and then quickly abandoned it for something else.
You've probably noticed that I use some pretty big photos on each blog post here. That should mean big file sizes - but it doesn't have to.
When you take a high resolution digital photo and simply resize it for your web site you are NOT compressing it. Or if you are, then you are probably not compressing it as much as you could be.
I use a macbook air as my only computer and I do not have an external display. This means that my screen has a maximum resolution of 1440 x 900.
For those of you with multiple monitor setups you might think it is odd but it works for me and forces me to concentrate on the task at hand (or it would if I didn't have a tablet and phone as well).
Everyday I receive emails, tweets, facebook and skype messages seeking free Joomla support. It is usually "urgent" and always without enough information for me to answer correctly.
I am happy to help anyone at anytime with their Joomla web site but are you really using the best and quickest way to ask for that help? I might not be online. I might be busy. I am not being rude and ignoring you. I just can't answer the question from the information that you have asked.
