Apple announced the unveiling of the iphone for June 7th, Android is taking the world by storm, Ubuntu released its newest version, 10.04 Lucid Linx with long term support, and Adobe CS5 has also arrived.
Some of those events are related to the open source industry, while others concern the proprietary world. The trend I see, however, is that more than ever, the open source philosophy is providing viable alternatives to the MS-Apple-Adobe clique.
In my own little world too, open source is taking a better foot hold on the way I do my job. I’ve set up a terminal to run solely on Ubuntu (Linux), in addition to my Windows and Mac terminals. On the Ubuntu-Linux terminal I have set up a resourceful collection of web development tools, and I am now experimentally building web projects without the use of a single proprietary program.
Below then, I want to share my tool kit–a sort of, “George’s Picks”, if you will, of open source development tools. Since there are so many out there, making a choice can be overwhelming, but these are my preferred choice.
Languages (the essential selection):
XHTML
Every web site needs HTML, but open source is generally better at helping you adhere to standards, so you might as well make sure your HTML is XHTML.
CSS
Dito. You can write it adhering to standards more effectively with the aid of open source tools.
PHP
Open source, powerful, free. Love php. Love it. I mean… we all know what happened to…. Cold Fusion trying to charge for itself…
Javascript / Jquery / Ajax
Flash is proprietary, and although Ubuntu’s “Wine” emulator can technically run it, I wouldn’t trust it or recommend it. Besides, since Flash is proprietary, that disqualifies it from open source web development anyway.
The trio above can cover most of what you need, if you know how to program them well. And in those areas where they come up short, good Project Management skills can convince your client that he doesn’t need that costly, flashy, Flash app anyway. And guess what? In most cases he doesn’t!
HTML Editor:
Aptana (mixed with Firefox Web Developer tools add on.)
Aptana is a bit wonky in usability, and it takes some getting used to (heck, I still haven’t gotten used to it!), but it does have a lot of features, and it is well integrated with technologies such as jquery and php. Where it lacks in Dreamweaver type capabilities, the Firefox “Web Developer” add on can pick up some of the slack as a good suppliment.
Grahpics program:
Gimp 2.6
Get over your “I-don’t-want-to-try-something-new-and-different” reservations, and learning Gimp will be a rewarding time investment as an alternative to Photoshop. It’s a powerful enough program, with compatibility of reading .psd and .png file formats. For the fairly meager photographic needs and depths of the web designer, it’s more than enough to fit the bill.
It’s also handy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to fix an “emergency” graphic of a panicked client, at inopportune times, and Photoshop hasn’t been readily available.
You can even get Gimp as a portable app at portableapps.com, and run it straight off your USB key. In fact, that holds true for many of these programs.
Vector graphics program:
Inkscape
Though many will argue that Xaraxtreme is more powerful, and that is a very valid point, I found the learning curve on Inkscape to be easier and more “Adobe Illustrator-like”, and it was more than enough for what I needed to do in world of web development.
FTP:
Filezilla
There are tons of free ftp clients out there, and they all basically do the same thing. I tried a bunch, but this seemed to be the most comfortable for me. It’s also a sort of “trusted” name. I also recommend Coreftp. I’ve been using that one for years too without many hitches.
Browser:
Firefox
‘Nuff said. Don’t challenge the King. (Although between you and me, Chrome is a pretty damn good browser too! Shhh..)
Misc:
Google
An integral skill to open source is being able to google something and find the answer to it. Since open sources programs generally have no phone support, that means that internet forums, faqs, and wikis are your life line when you get stuck.
Aside from this, Google also has some cool little copy-and-paste API’s. Though Google is proprietary, it does act like a bit of hybrid some times, because it often let developers play around with code.
So there you have it. A digest or collection of a trusted set of open source alternatives to proprietary web development.
“Digest”? “Alternatives”? Does that then make me a sort of…. Web Dev vegan?
AltaVision Plus and its patient care concept, was formed and founded in 2008. With over 40 years of ophthalmology (LASIK) experience among the founding members, their goal has been to provide a robust vision care program, usually only available in large metropolitan areas, to individuals and communities that are isolated, have demand that is not being met or where their particular services have not yet been established.
The Altavision Plus website represents what the web can do for such companies. For starters, their site features a hand coded, fully customized content management system that was delivered to them for the same value as a more generic Wordpress, Joomla, or Drupal driven content management system.
What really sets this site apart, however, is the video faq located on the top right hand corner of the home page. With all assets created in house at IAM Webs using our green screen and video-for-web know how, the video FAQ demonstrates that communication in our modern age is more clean, simple, and accessible to anyone than ever before.
Without bogging down their clients to read excessive information about their services in addition to yet more documentation and paperwork clients need to read, AltaVision Plus answers clients’ questions directly, while engaging the user in a modern, interactive media format.
The Gifted Children’s Association of BC was established over 25 years ago to provide support and advocacy designed to help parents and others meet the intellectual, emotional & social needs of gifted children and their families throughout the province.
Their activities are intended to improve parent and public understanding of the special needs and capacities of the gifted children in our families and communities.
GCABC approached IAM Webs (Opto’s affiliate) with the goal of improving their online presence to allow more efficient member services and a cleaner and more controllable presentation of current and relevant information, and to bring more exposure to the issues surrounding their cause. IAM Webs responded with the delivery of a comprehensive content management system driving a clean and inviting layout.
The project was lead and designed by Caio Prezia, while back end programming was provided by Linh Nguyen.
Kefi restaurant is not just Greek food. It’s good Greek food. Well truth be told, it’s damn good Greek food. In a Vancouver market were restaurants can get away with mediocrity, due to poor consumer expectations, Kefi raises it’s standards regardless, (and its own “kefi” in the process). If you’re not aware, kefi is a word in the Greek language for a feeling of high spirits and good times often associated with music and entertainment, but it can also be used to refer to mood. Well Kefi has a lot of kefi. It’s also modern, traditional, fun, authentic, and unique all at the same time. It’s not your typical Greek North American eating experience; you know what we mean.. with the standard pilaf rice and roast potatoes served with every dish. (Those same rice and roast potatoes that ironically aren’t served in Greece with meals.)
Kefi pays attention to detail. So they needed a site to communicate this, a site that carries their message in a clear manner, one that their staff could easily update their menu with, and one that their customers could easily access to find out about their great food.
Good food and a good atmosphere–or a good kefi as it were–is only part of the “recipe” for success (pardon the pun). People still need to find your business. In today’s world of new media and internet marketing, search engine optimization plays a key role. So Kefi’s site is setup and hand coded in way that delivers in this area as well. Just type the keyword “kefi” on any search engine from Canada and you’ll see what we mean.
FAAM Construction’s building more than just homes. They’re building an online strategy, complete with online marketing and site development.
FAAM wanted their clients to identify with their brand online, so they put OptoDesign to the task of creating a digital presence for them on the net, at a reasonable cost for a small to medium sized business.
faamconstruction.com outlines the company’s bio and presents its portfolio in a simple, clean, and accessible format.
The FAAM site formula is an ideal solution as an entry level site for restaurants, professionals, realtors, and other such businesses or services.
The Period of PURPLE Crying® is the phrase used to describe the point in a baby’s life when they cry more than any other time. This period of increased crying is often described as colic, but there have been many misunderstandings about what “colic” really is. It is a new way to help parents understand this time in their baby’s life, which is a normal part of every infant’s development.
The National Center for Shaken Baby syndrome, dontshake.org, has just lauched the website for this new and informative campaign at purplecrying.info.
The task in this project was to communicate this most important material to parents who desperately need some relief from the constant crying of their new born infants. The information needed to be presented in an accessible manner, so that parents would not need to overly search at the crucial time that they need the information.
“The Period of PURPLE Crying®” project was headed by IAM Webs with Project Management from George Papazian and Design Direction from Caio Prezia.
Bridal Network Inc. is an online media and advertising company, focusing on the wedding industry. It’s primary market is Canada. The challenge here was the development of a quantifiable online marketing strategy for their “retail” properties, primarily their flagship bridal website, bride.ca
Bride.ca has a seemingly straightforward subject matter: wedding planning in Canada. However, typically, in practice this is an overgeneralisation; potential customers (brides-to-be) will almost never begin their web searches looking for something as general as “planning”. As a result an exhaustive amount of research was initially required, to identify current trends, needs and popular areas of immediate need to brides just beginning their wedding planning process, since (a) there is an overabundance of similar services on the Internet (b) brides-to-be are a rather short-lived customer, completing their purchasing cycle in 4-12 months.
Having identified likely entry-points to the target demographic, a comprehensive strategy was developed and is still monitored and managed on a monthly basis. The campaign includes both regional and categorical niches, precise content generation and leverages the competitive advantages of Bridal Network in their particular market (eg. a large wedding vendor network). Initital results have been extremely encouraging and have helped us identify further approaches and fine-tune our overal plan.
For example, try the following “wedding planning searches” on google.ca:
The term website is as broad a term as t.v. So when a client needs a site, it’s important to determine what type of site s/he needs.
Diman Developments are contractors, a Vancouver based construction and development company. They didn’t need anything fancy, just a cool, creative site to showcase their great work.
The Diman site represents a fitting solution for small business at a very affordable price. The site features a fully customized interface, with a lightbox photo gallery displaying the company’s jobs.
Solutions for small business and big business alike. This is what commercial web development is about. Determining the needs of your client is truely an art form that few development houses are able to master.
La Musique is a fashion show put on by fashion students at the Art Institute of Vancouver. It features the portfolio of each designer’s work throughout the course of their stint at the Art Institute.
Due to the logistics of this large event, it combines all resources of students across programs including web, film, event planning, graphic design, and, of course, fashion.
EF students of the Continuing New Media Studies program had the mandate of creating a yearbook of life at EF.
“Late for Class” is a clip from the final product, demonstrating their video editing skills. The authentic footage was shot by students themselves, and then edited using Adobe Premiere under the direction of George Papazian at IAM.
