Some people are able to open up a graphic editor and produce stunning original artwork for their web sites. I'm not one of those people. For me it's usually a case of searching the net in the hope of finding the perfect graphic that exactly matches my needs. Usually I fail in that search and end up with the closest thing I can find.
Yesterday was world backup day. Did you remember to take your backups? Of course you're taking them daily aren't you and not just once a year!!
Every Joomla user knows that they can use the awesome Akeeba Backup to take a backup of their site quickly and easily and even automate the process so that the backup is taken daily, with the backup archives stored in a secure off-site location.
When you went to backup your WordPress, phpBB, PrestaShop or other php/sql web site were you jealous?
The conversation about the change in licence for the Joomla Framework has clearly raised many strong opinions as well as some confusion. I admit I was confused at first regarding the version of the LGPL that was to be used as it was missing from the original post by Paul but once that was clarified I did update my post. However I believe there is one "confusion" that still can be resolved.
This is in response to a potential license change to lgpl for joomla! framework
Joomla was founded on the principle of Open Source Matters and a change to using the LGPL licence for the framework is completely against that. For those of you that don't know the LGPL allows the code to be included in proprietary, closed source software.
How does allowing people to produce closed source software with the Joomla Framework support the principle of Open Source Matters?
When I redesigned this web site earlier this month one of the challenges I faced was how to ensure that it worked as I intended it to work on multiple devices. And I didn't just wanted it to work I wanted it to look great as well.
There is not much point investing time, and perhaps money, in a design if it looks terrible on every device apart from your own. All your hard work, time and effort is wasted just because you didn't do enough testing.
Ask a Joomla web site builder why they use Joomla and the answer will most likely include "Joomla is easy, anyone can use it and you can have a site online in 5 minutes." But that's not really true.
Saying something is "easy" is a relative statement. Sure, building a web site with Joomla is easier than building a rocket to orbit the earth, but it is definitely not as easy as boiling an egg. Joomla is easy for me, and probably most of you, because you have done your research, read some documentation, watched some tutorials and most importantly have several years of experience.
So when we say "Joomla is easy" what do we really mean and are we setting the expectation for newcomers to Joomla at completely the wrong level?
2013 was a very quiet year for this blog but that is all changing in 2014.
Just because I was quiet here didn't mean I was quiet in the Joomla world, (do you really think I can ever be quiet?), as I tried to contribute in many new ways. For me some of those were successful others less so.
I have learnt new skills which I hope will I will be able to continue to improve. I definitely understand more code now than I ever did before and one day I will be able to completely stop asking friends for help.
We are not that long away from the scheduled release of Joomla 3.5, the next LTS (Long Term Release) and at this point in time I believe we really should not be looking at adding any game-changer features. My understanding, and hope, is that by the time we release 3.5 it should be a rock solid release and will need little more than minor maintenance and security releases for the rest of the release's life.
With just a few weeks to go to J and Beyond it’s time to start your preparations. A few minutes spent reading this check list will have a lasting and beneficial effect on your experience at the event.
If you have other suggestions then please share them in the comments.
