I use reuse a number of CSS/XHTML layouts everyday and feel it is time to share. This is the third of three articles in a series on how to create various CSS rounded corner or “fancier than a simple box” container with CSS and XHTML that work in IE 6, IE 7, Firefox 1.5, Firefox 2.0, and Safari 2.0. I have used this code on several large and small sites and have enjoyed the flexibility of both changing the height and the width. (Also see css containers: simple, fixed width, rounded corners, and css containers: fancier, fixed width, rounded corners..)

There are some sites where you need to have some flexibility with both height and width of the containers. This technique is known as the “ThrashBox” and I will not go into detail about it because it is well documented: ThrashBox. If you want to use something like this, there is a great web site that offers to create the graphic needed based on your input of color, height, weight, and corner radius. Check it out:Spiffy Box.

I use reuse a number of CSS/XHTML layouts everyday and feel it is time to share. This is the second of 4 articles in a series on how to create various CSS rounded corner or "fancier than a simple box" container with CSS and XHTML that work in IE 6, IE 7, Firefox 1.5, Firefox 2.0, and Safari 2.0. I created this code from scratch and use this for any fancier fix width boxes I might need for sites I create. Height is not fixed. (Also see css containers: simple, fixed width, rounded corners.)

The container:

.roundedBox {width:300px;}
.roundedBoxTop{height:10px; background: url("/downloads/rounded-corners/top-rounded.gif") no-repeat bottom;}
.roundedBoxMiddle{background: url("/downloads/rounded-corners/middle-rounded.gif") repeat-y; padding:0 10px 0 10px;}
.roundedBoxMiddle p {margin:0; padding:0;}
.roundedBoxBottom{height:15px; background: url("/downloads/rounded-corners/bottom-rounded.gif") no-repeat top;}

Content
This is a quick and easy way to do something that looks better than a square box.

The code:

General Information:
This is based on a simple graphic I created in Photoshop using the rounded corner box tool, a drop shadow, a stroke, and ... [more]

I have enjoyed looking at multiple hosting options through clients in the last few months. Yesterday I worked with Plesk on one account and another who uses Yahoo! for hosting. Just as I was getting ready to write a positive blog post on Yahoo's web hosting I ran into a snag when uploading and preparing the WordPress site for my client...Yahoo! does not allow you to use mod_rewrite Permalinks. So instead of having nice URLs like /services/ and /contact/ you have to use ?page_d=4. Gross. So in short - if you are using WordPress and want to maintain it yourself (always have the latest, most secure version, etc) I do not recommend using Yahoo! for WordPress sites.

I have been in a music rut for awhile now - I have not changed the CDs in my car's CD changer for multiple weeks, not because I am lazy, but because I cannot think of anything I really want to listen to while driving. I generally listen to either some sort of electronica/DJ music (think Carl Cox or Corderoy) or classic rock of some sorts. A few days ago I briefly switched on the radio and heard something that really grabbed my attention: Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" song which is very R&B/soul sounding. It is a very classic sounding song and I think my mother even like it! Anyways - it is definitely worth checking out! Nice work Amy!

Over the past few months I have had the chance to look at a number of hosting companies and their "control panels" by working with a number of clients. It seems as a number of people flock to godaddy.com because of it's price (really cheap), but I have learned - once again - that you get what you pay for. If you want to have a very simple 1-5 page static web site, go for it - use whatever host you want. If you want anything else, after working with over 20 hosting companies, I can easily say that I would not go with godaddy.com. Why?

The admin area (control panel) is horrible in general. Not intuitive at all.
No backup on demand (or scheduled) available
Working with .htaccess files is a pain - as they do not work right away, there is a "wait time".
The admin area (control panel) is slow and sometimes even times out
Free support is almost non-existent
Creating a database is not instantaneous
Paid support (talk to someone) is a joke (at least in my experience)
I am not alone in my recommendation

I could go on, but I have a busy day ahead of me. ... [more]

I have been a long time SquirrelMail web mail user (Since 1998). I have always relied on it when I needed to check my email if I was away from home or the office. Last month, I decided to dump SquirrelMail for RoundCube Webmail I was sick of the SquirrelMail interface and tired of waiting for the next release. After a few days with RoundCube Webmail - I have decided to go back to SquirrelMail because of it's reliability and functionality. Although RoundCube Webmail is beautiful, it does not support rules (filters) or much of anything else - your mail is just "there". SquirrelMail has all kinds of plugins to add in functionality and I have grown to appreciate it. Anyways - if you are thinking about installing a web mail package - I would recommend sticking with SquirrelMail - at least for now. I installed the latest development version (1.5.1) and have noticed that it is a lot peppier than the stable release and I have not had any problems so far. Now to make it prettier...

As a web developer, new browser releases both excite me and scare me. When I heard about Safari coming out for the PC (Beta available to download) I got pretty excited. I really like the speed of Safari on the Mac and was eager to see how it would perform on the PC.

For quality assurance testing, I have found if I can get everything to work in Safari - it is only a few steps, at most, to get everything working in my core browsers (IE 6, IE 7, Safari 2+, Firefox 1.5, Firefox 2+) so I am eager to add Safari 3 into the mix. At first glance it was odd seeing the Safari icon on the Windows desktop, and the menu bar items within the browser window, but I have to say - all the sites rendered beautifully - finally for all those PC users. I am excited to see how this develops - good work Apple!