Winners

• Seh Hui - http://felixleong.com/
• Amy - pikaland.com
• Lance

Congrats to all the winners and we will have another contests coming soon! Stay tune!

Who is MOO?

If you’ve not come across MOO before, they love to print – whether it’s unique business cards, creative MiniCards, Postcards, Greeting cards, StickerBooks and more.

MOO was born from a love of beautiful, high-quality print and design. MOO makes designing and printing beautiful and unique business cards, greeting cards and MiniCards so easy! You can either upload your own images or artwork to create truly unique cards, or choose from a range of designer templates and personalize them with your own details.

What You Can Win?

3 Different Winners will receive a set of 100 business cards printed & shipped for free from MOO.

How to Win?

You can win the prize by completing any one of the options below, each option will earn you an entry to the contest

• Leave a comment at the bottom of this blog post. (1 entry)
• Add @Overheardatmoo and @kailoon on Twitter and tweet about the contest. (1 entry)
• We receive entry submitted before 14 December 2011.

image source: Xocoo’s Weblog

To begin with, installing PHP and Apache isn’t really that complicated on either platform. At least, you certainly don’t need a computer science degree to pull it off. About five minutes worth of time Googling the subject will tell you all you need to know. Apache and PHP on Windows is fairly straightforward for most users, being installable and configurable via the GUI, although the Linux version is as well. You should be able to setup a web server in under ten minutes on both. Unless you’re hosting site from your own home server, most web hosts that you choose will give you the choice of either and you won’t have to actually install anything yourself.

If you are installing Apache and PHP by yourself, there are two main methods of accomplishing this. One can either install each separately, or use an automated script or installation program. Both are acceptable ways of installing the Apache HTTP server and PHP. In terms of security, it’s actually better to install PHP and Apache separately, but as long as you keep permissions set properly a program installation manager like XAMPP is perfectly safe. XAMPP is fairly common, and handles the installation of Apache, PHP and the MySQL database on a variety of operating systems.

The XAMPP package works equally well for both Windows and Linux. On Windows, it’s a simple matter of downloading the program, executing it, and choosing passwords during the install. However, there are a few additional steps that need to be taken with Windows 7 and Vista, such as switching the default IIS server of Microsoft’s system off of port 80 so that Apache can use that port. On the other hand, Linux installation is a bit simpler. You really just have to download the compressed XAMPP software package, extract it to the /opt directory, and that’s it. To start the server on a Debian server, you’d run “sudo /opt/lampp/lampp start”, and it fires up all components.

One advantage of a LAMP stack is that many Linux distributions can install PHP5, Apache2, MySQL as well as phpMyAdmin all with one single command from their software repositories. For instance, Ubuntu installs the whole shebang with the command “sudo apt-get install lamp-server^” from the command-line. All you have to do is choose a few passwords during the setup process. You can also install PHP and Apache separately through terminal commands and it takes about the same amount of time to get going. While it’s somewhat a matter of personal preference and the environment you’re used to, the Linux filesystem is easy to get a hang of.

There are a few metrics by which the relative merits of Windows versus Linux hosting can be judged. Speed, reliability, security and time spent configuring and administering the system are the main areas we want to consider. Windows has an edge in terms of usability on the desktop, but that doesn’t really extend to the server realm for most users as both Linux and Windows hosting solutions will offer graphical user interfaces. Linux is also faster and suffers fewer bugs and crashes.

Linux has a well deserved reputation for superior security, and in many cases it’s not necessary to install anti-virus software at the server level. Thanks to the locked down, modular nature of Unix-based systems, it’s difficult for a virus to infiltrate the system without the express permission of the administrator. In terms of ease of use, Linux isn’t as hard to pick up as it seems. Despite the reputation as an operating system for “nerds”, it’s quite well laid out and logical. There are fewer layers of abstraction which cuts down on code bloat, and the open source nature of Linux means vulnerabilities are spotted and corrected more quickly.

At the end of the day, running Apache and PHP on a Linux platform involves less hassle and cost, and is more reliable than on Windows. It also comes out on top in terms of security and safety, and costs less as it is free. As far as level of difficulty when it comes to installation, Linux has the edge. They’re both fairly easy overall, however. The real question is which operating system is the best choice for the long haul and will perform well under stress and be more impervious to malicious attacks. In that case, the best hosting environment for an Apache server with PHP is Linux.

This article has been penned down by Joanna and Steven who are part of webhostingsearch.com from over 2 years and been in the web industry from quite some time now.

It is very straight forward, is either people like it or not. User can vote, suggest and comment. It is something “in your face”. The result, any design problems are caught earlier, ensuring that only high-quality ideas make it into launch. It saves your time in keep repeating the same process when you are going to launch a product.

I realize that there might be copyrighting issue when you publish your concepts and ideas. This is the feedback from the company founder and CEO, Andrew Follett.

There is not a whole lot we can do about copyrights that I know of. Design may be stolen, but so far we have had zero complaints and ConceptFeedback is not much different than a gallery site in that respect. Anytime a designer puts his/her work on display, there is the threat of copycats, but I think it is more of a perception than reality.

- Andrew Follett

But, there is also another way to prevent that. ConceptFeedback allows users to post concepts privately. This means they will not show up on the “public” forum and the concept is only viewable by the e-mail addresses selected (this could mean clients, co-workers, friends). You also have the option to do both, put your concept on public display and invite outside reviewers.

In my opinion, the world has changed. The way we communicate with the users is different. It is more direct and transparent. This also can be the key of success for any modern businesses. Company started to care about their user’s feeling while user’s started to demand something with quality.

A little about myself, I recently involved myself more into user experience design. It is a totally different area compare to plain web design. It makes me feel I am more close to a user rather than a designer. Majority of the users more care about the usability compare to the design. It’s extremely important to get honest feedback from the actual users and to know what they really want. So, I think ConceptFeedback can be a great place for us to improve and get closer to the community.

Something about our sponsor

UPrinting is a very professional online printing company that you can both get your designs printed, including canvas prints. They are fast in delivery. They are not only doing business card printing, but also covers postcards, brochures, labels and stickers and a lot more. Check out their website see the wide range of products they covered.

If you are going to kick start your own business, you will not want to miss this chance! Business card is a very important marketing tools for all of us.

How to win your free business cards?

Leave a comment at the end of the blog post, describing what you would use the free business cards and/or canvas print for.

• Please post only one comment per person, duplicated comments will be deleted and void.
• Comment box will be accepted until 31^st March, and we’ll randomly generate 2 winners.
• Winners will be contacted via email, so, please leave your comment with your contactable email address.
• Winners in the United States and Canada qualify for free shipping. Shipping fees will apply to winners outside these areas.

Prize

• 1000 free standard size business cards for one reader
• 1 free 18×24 canvas print for one reader

You can choose from any of their stocks for these items.

Personally, I prefer Banner ads. 125 x 125 is my favorite. When you put them together, they just look as good as a photo gallery. It is nice to be display. Not like those fancy flash ad with text flying here and there. For banner ad, I am using BuySellAds only for now. I never think of change to other network after I started with them. I am very happy with the performance so far. Maybe sometimes it is a bit slow in loading. But the problem already solved.

I notice that they only serve ads to blog which related to web design, web development and tech site. I also browse through the marketplace in their site. Some of the high traffics site is offering low price but they can’t get any ads. I am lucky that I manage to sell a few slots with my poor little traffics.

New Features Soon

Recently, I received an email from them. They are now working on some nice new features:

• Something like Kayak.com search features, graphs and stats for advertisers and publishers, auto-recommendations for advertisers based on their current ad spend and/or specified niche
• different ad types (paid reviews, text ads/links)
• tools to help publishers promote their own spots
• better billing system, etc

Their concept is trying to make things as straight forward as possible. I think they make the right decision. For me, I prefer something very straight forward.

My Experiences

For example, currently I am developing a site. I would like to have very straight forward interface. but the owner tell me that he scare that the users do not understand the site. Then ask me try to make it as details as possible to let people know the nature of the business. What the H*. The company is already there for more than 1 year. You still have to worry about this?

Maybe you will say he got his point to not losing the potential clients. But, what is the purpose of the FAQ sections? Terms and Conditions? Contact Form? I have no idea about this. For me, BuySellAds only provide a very simple user interface now. Even I don’t know how to use their services for the first time but I write them an email and ask. Why? Because I want to use it! As simple as that. Then maybe you will say because I am a web designer then I know better on those we application stuff. But, if I am not a web designer or working something which is web related. Why I need to sign up at BuySellAds. Right?

My Expectations

Wow, sounds like I am out of the topic already. Sorry, I just want to share my experiences here. The philosophy of LoonDesign. I write my thought. I only provide original writing which is came from my heart. Alright, back to the topic. BuySellAds is now only for beta version. I am still waiting for the new features to be launched. They really need a sorting function for the ad marketplace. I prefer something like sort by price, rank etc. Also not forgotten the ability to change the price on our own.

Cheers!

Experience and Expectation

Okie, I am not going to compare or argue both of them. But I did tried them before. I also received cheques from them before. Okie, case close. Now, TechnoratiMedia, a place that you can earn something in USD. However, I still don’t know how is the performance. But I do believe that it depend on the traffics of your blog. Nothing like “I am friend of one of the insider, so I earn more.” or “the band isn’t match the earnings” or even “I got RM xxx in my account and I cash out 4 months ago, but it still pending, the person in charge say I am a frauder!” may not happen. I didn’t say it won’t happen. Just the possibility is lesser.

I expect that their network is way way wider. I also expect that they will have a better frauding system. So, what we need to do is only focus on our blog content. Nothing is more important than controlling your blog content quality if you wish to make money online. Try to turn your interest into business. Maybe it is just a small business and you only able to earn some pocket money. But, trust me, you will be very satisfy with that.

If you like photographing, write something about it. Share your thoughts, idea, skills, experiences etc. If you like to eat, share the good places you found. A niche blog is always better than a “rojak” (mixed content) blog.

Conclusion

Good luck to you all and happy blogging! Cheers!

Three Great Tutorial Sites

Where to go?

As you can see, I am getting some freelance job recently and I also post them up in my portfolio page (some are still under development). You may notice that. I am doing stuff more related to blog design using WordPress. Is this a good sign? If you have read about my previous post about “who am I ?”. You may find out whether I am a WordPress Designer or just a Web Designer.

All Rounded Freelancer, CanYou Name One Here?

I also don’t know why? All the clients are using a blog. Funny right? Or, can we say that everyone like to be a blogger nowadays? I got no idea. Faith? they all using wordpress too … I think this is not good for a freelancer because this may limited his source of clients.

I think if you want to be a freelancer, you need to be all rounded. Flash, Photoshop, After Effects, CSS, JavaScript etc. He/she need to have good design sense, color sense and also well organized coding style. Besides, he/she also need to be able to build a system on his/her own. Lastly, he/she need to have good imagination to create high quality motion graphic and video/animation. Wow…sound like our local vacancy’s requirements, right?

My concern

For me, I never meet a person like this. I only meet who have good design skill and sense or someone who good in coding. It is nearly impossible to find someone like that and further, they only offer not more than RM 5,000 for a person who have those kind of god skills. Can you believe it? This is also one of the reason why I am not so eager to learn something new now. I prefer to focus more on what I am doing now. which is blog and design.

I just worry that if I get started something new now, I will forget what I know now. Or, I may lost interest in what I am doing now. So, Web Designer? Blog Designer or Freelancer? I will go for Web Designer which focus on wordpress. I am not saying the other two are wrong. You have the right to choose where to go. Each of us have our own destiny.

Real Life

Dream is still a dream. Sometimes, we just can’t avoid from it. I may be one of the local full time freelancer soon. Our maid is going back to her country soon. She is helping my mum to take care of my sister all the while. We are looking for new maid but it take minimum 3 months to get a new one. So, I got no choice but to quit my current job and work on something that I can work from home. So, freelancer will be my first option now. If I can choose, I still prefer to work under a company, in a group.

Introduction

W3 Markup, based on the name you can expect it is a site that provide something related to web development. Yes, they provide service which help you to convert your web design in PSD to HTML. beside, they also offer “Re-slicing” of existing sites (bring old code up-to-date). Well, this is also what I offer to my clients. Besides, they also provide the client intranet as a tool to facilitate easy management of multiple projects.

The Powerful Order Form

Conclusion

This is a good site and they provide some excellent services. Nowadays, it is hard to get a web site which is cross browser (especially I.E6), SEO friendly and with valid CSS/XHTML. Personally, I always make sure my coding is up to this standard. I will try my best and maintained my concept and principle in my future tasks!

GMX PhotoPainter

GMX – PhotoPainter is a digital painting software that transform images into handmade drawings.
Styles Includes:

• Watercolor painting
• Crayon Painting
• Pen & Ink
• Oil Painting
• Pointillism
• Pastel Colors
• Unlimited Custom Styles

Below are the sample from gertrudis graphics digital paintings :

Watercolor effect.

Pen & Ink Painting.

Kai Loon Point Of View

It is a good and useful software that can cut down the workload of a Graphic designer. As we know, Graphic Designer spend hours in front of monitor just to edit some minor part of the photo to increase the details and quality of the photo. If there is a software to help, why not? Photoshop also have such effects and function. However, still, “right task for the right people”. Now, “right software for the right purpose”. Thanks!

This is a sponsored review post. However, Kai Loon have the right to review the products from bad to great.

The concepts

Basically, the concepts are simple enough. Audience submit the sites to be challenged and also let other audience to vote for the best web design / coding from their point of view. For ShoulRedesign, you only need to vote either YES or NO. If you can’t decide, SKIP it. That’s all. Then, your vote will be take into account and you can see how many people felt that the site need to be redesign or not. From here, as a designer, we also can see what the majority audience like and also what they don’t like. This made us easy to get track of the web design trend. Other than this, we can also easily find out which site is leading the creative trends and which is not. I think it is a good place for web designers to get references too when they need inspiration for a new web design. I stated again, it is references but not copy and paste! :p here is my little thinking :

Be confident to your design, feeling and senses.
We may create bad design but we MUST not COPY others.

Why People Challenge?

I always like to submit my site to those challenge but not to win something but to learn something. I can know what people don’t like in my design, style, colors usage and etc. For me, it is a good practice for self improvements. I submitted LoonDesign to a lot of CSS Gallery already and finally accepted by CSSVault. What this means? Why I only got one approval and what happen to the rest applications? What this means to me? I think it is a message to tell me that my site / my style / my design or even my skills are still not up to the current CSS standard. So, I need to improve more and learn harder than before.

So, sometimes we just can’t be too stubborn when we are designing something or creating something for clients. This is special note for those freelancers out there. Something maybe you won’t agree or you will say ” cross over my dead body!” but the fact is the client pay you to do so and you decided to take the job. So, better to follow their requirements. If you think you prefer to have more freedom on the creative part, better don’t take the job and start your own business now.

Conclusion

I understand that there are a lot of incident which complaint by freelancers and I don’t want to mention more into details here. It is always not a easy job to be a freelancer. You have to follow what the clients’ need and also accept their critics on your design (which they think is sucks and you think is the best in the world). It hurts sometimes …

Design / Interface

For the interface design, I can say it is simple and neat. But when come to web design, I think that the main page have no focus as it flooded with content and images. For the rest, it is still the same problem. But one thing is good where they using some line design to make it look more clean and fresh. They should use the priority of section to select which to be show in the main page and which to show at the bottom or in the sidebar.
Camera Gallery

Camera Gallery

Here you can find out the latest camera showcase, specifications and review. It is a good way to let users to get some info or reference before purchase on certain products. The best part is there is a function to let you to compare among cameras.

Activities

There are lots of activities available on eoe online such as photo competition and the prizes given are great enough! Besides, they also allow users to upload their photo into the gallery to share with others who also like photographing.

Shopping cart

This is page that show more consistency and functions well. It is easy to search for the item you need and they also provide guideline on how to shop online. The steps are being show clearly and easy to follow.

Prices

No doubt, you may find something in lower price here as they are always giving discount offer for members. It is up to 30% of discount.

Current Competition

Chinese New Year is coming and food is definitely one of the important elements of this festive occasion. eoe Online is taking this opportunity to reward KFC meal vouchers to members who found the most ‘Gold’ (big and small) with the highest accumulated points on the eoe Online site!
The Contest runs from 11 January 2008 (12:00hrs) until 29 February 2007 (12:00hrs).

• 1st Prize – RM300.00 KFC voucher
• 2nd Prize – RM200.00 KFC voucher
• 3rd Prize – RM100.00 eoe Online cash voucher
• 10x Consolation Prize – RM50.00 eoe Online cash voucher

Before this, I read some post was talking about Malaysia on-line store in the future. I also feel that their future is bright enough but it take times to make people feel more convenience to shop online. After I read this e-store, I think that should not be a big problem to shop online which have their physical shop in real world.

They sell seasonal and non-seasonal gifts. The interesting part is you can be the designer for the gift you purchased. Sounds great right? Their mission is to encourage people to express their own artistic impulses in their web site. They provided personalized & unique gifts. Meaning to say that you can buy something that printed with your photos and special wording on it.

Here you can buy some common gifts such as mugs, T-shirt, puzzles, cushions, mouse pads, key chain etc. As we know, it required a huge quantity to make something like that when we order from manufacturer. When you purchase only 1 item, then the cost may fly high. But, there is no minimum quantity order. You can make your only one personalized mug and give it to your love one.

We know Christmas is coming soon. They also design some beautiful mug template for you to make your personalized Christmas mug. Magic mug is the most interesting stuff for me so far. According to the description there, the picture will be revealed when you fill in hot water! Cool ~ Besides, I also love the T-shirt.

Before this, I wish to buy a Levis couple T-shirt which is actually in one pair. But, I need to purchase over a specific amount to buy that. It is too expensive for me. So, I would choose HeartBeat T-shirt as it is cheaper. But I think they should allow us to fully use our own design for the T-shirt design. Now, they provide some template for the photo Tee. Not saying that the template is not good but I think it will be better to let customer to make the whole design. Just my little suggestion…

The steps to order from them are simple.
• Pick an item
• Pick a Design
• Add your desired photo
• Add your text / message
• Done!

Well, you can now visit their web and get yourself your item with your own brand! they accept online payment and also credit card payment. It is so convenience.