If you work with webservers and have to do lots of uploding, it can be a pain in the ar53 to upload the files one by one via ftp.  Never mind the failed uploads and stuff, sometimes the amount of files to be uploaded is just crazy. So we had been looking for a solution to be able to upload zipped files in one go and unzip in the server itself which would eventually save lots of time.

The average document management codes are overkill for a small task like this. And we are not necessarily looking for any special function other than upload and unzip.

So here we have here a simple code that gets the work done. It's been very useful to us and we thought it might save you some time too.

Download simpleUnzip ( v 0.1) here.

Upload it to your webserver and browse it. It's pretty self explanatory. If you have any difficulties,  we would be happy to guide you through. We will be making updates to this script so please let us know what do you think.

(We haven't made the testing link public due to potential security issues,  if you want to test it  let us know through comment and we will send you the link.)

For past two weeks, we have been working on the ecapay brochure designs. And things weren't very easy with their tight deadline. Thanks to everyone it seems Ecapay will be in Copenhagen event with the new and shiny brochures. Need less to mention, we are very relieved.

We have uploaded two of the pages for you to look at.

That's how i would like to describe our toiling towards this height. This picture gives you an idea how the second version of the calculator will look like. For those who don't know how the first one was here is the link to it http://simplebyte.net/says/poker-odds-calculator.

We would appreciate if you have any comments or suggestions.

click on the image to see a bigger version.

For the second version we are working on the scalable interface so that you wouldn't need a 24" screen to view the entire calculator without scrolling.

We already have a vector based interface in AI which is being plugged into the application as we speak. So a few more weeks and we will have an awesome looking poker calculator for you to use for your next round of online poker.

Poker Odds Calculator v1

What do you think ? Do you have any comments or suggestions ? Help us improve.

For a superstore based in Coleraine, N. Ireland, the business owner wanted something simple and fast; more of a web presence to let customers be aware. After a few initial conversation, digging into the details, we agreed to a solution that would be simple and scalable platform to allow future ( marketing and technical ) requirements.

The website being focused to a specific geographical region we wanted to create a solution that's fit for not-so-web-savvy user demographic and appeal to them. Since waterside superstore offers lots of quality furniture we could use the product images to make the web page look attractive.

The other deciding factor for the proposal was, being in a smaller area, the consumers wouldn't necessarily need to know specifics or whereabouts of the store but be aware of the products the store has. This way by browsing the website the consumers would actually be saving time instead of having to travel to and from the physical location of the store.

Finally, how could we design a website and miss the green issue ? For that reason the website has a blog like feature that store can use for announcements or news for its consumers. Save more trees.

The website we proposed focuses mainly on the products, is very simple and concise.

The sitemap and wireframes :

Let us know if you have any suggestions or comments. We love to hear from you.

Marketing is just the second thought, primarily, i had a few specific reasons to do this:

Project Documentation:

I guess i don't have to emphasise the importance of documenting in project development, in fact, documentation is the most important thing in development and takes most of the time. But document management requires skill. As far as i am concerned

documentation is not the reason i got into this career

and having to manage, deliver to clients, programmers team & designers, explain the entire thing, all of these take lots of time. So blogging the documentation could help me save that time as both the clients and development team could refer to it.

It also helps make the entire process flexible as they can come back to it whenever they want instead of being forced to at a specific time. If there is any question, the answer is just an email away.

Transparency:

Arguing with clients over the logo placement or user interface layout is not a new thing in this industry. Don't worry, it won't be ending any soon either. In my opinion its about educating clients. Besides, respecting each other's opinion goes a long way in our society. Before telling the client why the "red blinking text" may not be the best idea, if you listen to the idea, extract the purpose or goal and give him a run down of the thought process of how you came about the decision of having a "button on the left top" ; the client would actually see how that might work and agree.

Its mostly about educating clients. They have a different career, that's the reason we are employed in the first place.

Making the entire thought process transparent doesn't only help the case with the clients but it also keeps me on my toe. There are people who cannot work without some sort of pressure on them. There are these beautiful and awesome "fairy tale" people that are actually organised and like to finish work way before deadline and there are these other kinds: always in rush, like me. A pressure of keeping it transparent makes sure I am at least doing my work.

Get Clients Involved:

When was the last time i sent a website flowchart and the client came back to me with corrections? Let me think, never ! Every client ( at least the ones i deal with ) believes they need to see something visual. They can't relate to the flowcharts or black and white diagrams.

When you know the documentation is the most important thing and it actually is the backbone of the entire project, how do you make the clients follow through that? The iteration in the paper would save loads of time compared to the iteration during coding. This is one of the areas where i need help. I need to know how are other people/companies doing it successfully.

Until I crack the code to that, I intend to use this blog to get the clients used to the fact that "Documentation saves money and time."

There goes my thoughts for now. Do you think this could be a way of getting work done better ? Do you have any suggestions or opinions ?

1: type in the address you want to visit and press enter.

2: use this button to change the orientation of the phone.

Why don't you try it and let us know what you think ?