The Apple Blog

houltmac · 07-19-2008

Hi all

I have started a new blog today. I have had blogs in the past but this one will be different

Anyway, no big hoopla, no big promotion, no real intention. Just sharing things I like, thoughts and so on with friends and family. You can find it at houltmac.net if you are interested. I'll try not to make it too Apple or repair centric.

I do however have a question: I like the image galleries that some people are using. My blog is based off of Wordpress and I'd like to use something like the one over at iPhoneAlley.com. Does anyone know where I can get this (and have install instructions if they aren't in the package since I am a moron)?

Any other plugins that are a real must? I'd like to keep it fairly simple but suggestions are more than welcome.

**baseballboy828** · 07-19-2008

Cool! Added to NNW along with 106 other feeds...

**Yuiichi** · 07-19-2008

Added to my NewsWire (ftw).

I was looking through iPhoneAlley for a sample image gallery but couldn't find one. Can you give a direct link, maybe?

houltmac · 07-20-2008

Thanks guys, good to know I have at least two people making use of it.

@Yuiichi: I can't find an example now either. It's just a simple pop-up thing. Just the image with a white border and you click to the right or left side of the image to view the next or last image in the group.

Now that I have played with all this a little more I'd like to retract the question in favour of another one anyway. I think static Flickr images will work fine for now, however I am looking at getting a Flip Mino camera soon and would like to post videos.

I have never really done video online before and while I view a lot of it I wanted some opinions on the best sites to use. I am not a fan of the YouTube thanks to it's poor quality and funky UI. I do like Vimeo's UI and that it goes all the way to HD (not that I'd use that) but no one seems to use it.

Question for all: What is your favourite video site and why?

**baseballboy828** · 07-20-2008

I don't shoot or publish video, but my favorite embedded video is Vimeo. It's clean and the quality is better than YouTube. The inline comments/tags are also handy for blog posts and comments.

**Yuiichi** · 07-20-2008

Oh man, what a discovery. Back when I was using Wordpress, I wanted the same kind of plugin you did Matt. After hours of searching, I found LightBox. It's exactly what I think you want. In that post, you'll see examples of how it works. Also, the post includes simple instructions for using it too! Easy!

I'd also like to point out FancyZoom by Cabel Sasser (of Panic fame). It's a chunk of Javascript rather than a plugin, but the zoom animation is top notch. The one thing you might not like is that it doesn't seem to have the ability to have galleries. It'll just zoom in individual images. Oh well!

Secondly, my favourite video site is Vimeo as well. Video looks amazing, it has great UI, the design of the site is great as well. Also, the video that I find on Vimeo is usually of higher production value and is more interesting to watch (rather than the many, many webcam rants on YouTube).

houltmac · 07-20-2008

That's great! Thanks Yuiichi!

It is starting to seem odd. Everyone I speak to says their favourite video site is Vimeo and yet no one actually seems to use it. Member numbers don't seem to compare to other big players. Still, I think I will probably stick with Vimeo when I get a camera.

**Yuiichi** · 07-20-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by houltmac

It is starting to seem odd. Everyone I speak to says their favourite video site is Vimeo and yet no one actually seems to use it. Member numbers don't seem to compare to other big players. Still, I think I will probably stick with Vimeo when I get a camera.

I guess it really depends on the content. Right now, YouTube is definitely king, and it's really a sorry state of affairs. I have the same feelings as you - the UI is pretty horrible and the quality is generally sub-par compared to other services. Vimeo is fantastic on the user-experience end and on the creator-experience end I would imagine. But I imagine that content creators want to go where the millions of people are too.

The masses really never go for quality, which can be plainly seen in the difference between Mac and PC marketshare.

philbowell · 07-20-2008

@Houltmac subscribed last night!!

I was going to suggest Lightbox but Yuiichi beat me to it. As for the video part, I prefer to watch and visit Vimeo, YouTube is just ugly. Depending on the type of video you plan to upload and how long you want it to be, Flickr is a possibility. I like the way it handles video, like Vimeo it's quite sophisticated, especially compared to YouTube.

J Walk · 07-20-2008

YouTube is like Microsoft.

Vimeo is like Apple.

Makes sense now, doesn't it?

07-19-2008	#1 (permalink)
houltmac Mac Genius Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1,121	Hi all I have started a new blog today. I have had blogs in the past but this one will be different Anyway, no big hoopla, no big promotion, no real intention. Just sharing things I like, thoughts and so on with friends and family. You can find it at houltmac.net if you are interested. I'll try not to make it too Apple or repair centric. I do however have a question: I like the image galleries that some people are using. My blog is based off of Wordpress and I'd like to use something like the one over at iPhoneAlley.com. Does anyone know where I can get this (and have install instructions if they aren't in the package since I am a moron)? Any other plugins that are a real must? I'd like to keep it fairly simple but suggestions are more than welcome. __________________ MacBook Pro 15", 2.53GHz, 4GB RAM, 320B 7200rpm HD \| iPhone 3G 16GB (Black) Last edited by houltmac; 07-19-2008 at 06:54 PM.

07-19-2008	#2 (permalink)
baseballboy828 Assistant Store Manager Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,252	Cool! Added to NNW along with 106 other feeds... __________________ iMac Intel Core Duo 17" 1.83Ghz, 2GB Crucial RAM ::Twitter : Ben Drucker Photography: Professional Photography Services :: Interested in a free trial Smugmug account?

07-19-2008	#3 (permalink)
Yuiichi Assistant Store Manager Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,021	Added to my NewsWire (ftw). I was looking through iPhoneAlley for a sample image gallery but couldn't find one. Can you give a direct link, maybe? __________________ My Mac(s): MacBook, white - 2.0 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB HDD Cake for you? The Macversity - Mac + School = Love.

07-20-2008	#4 (permalink)
houltmac Mac Genius Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1,121	Thanks guys, good to know I have at least two people making use of it. @Yuiichi: I can't find an example now either. It's just a simple pop-up thing. Just the image with a white border and you click to the right or left side of the image to view the next or last image in the group. Now that I have played with all this a little more I'd like to retract the question in favour of another one anyway. I think static Flickr images will work fine for now, however I am looking at getting a Flip Mino camera soon and would like to post videos. I have never really done video online before and while I view a lot of it I wanted some opinions on the best sites to use. I am not a fan of the YouTube thanks to it's poor quality and funky UI. I do like Vimeo's UI and that it goes all the way to HD (not that I'd use that) but no one seems to use it. Question for all: What is your favourite video site and why? __________________ MacBook Pro 15", 2.53GHz, 4GB RAM, 320B 7200rpm HD \| iPhone 3G 16GB (Black) Last edited by houltmac; 07-20-2008 at 05:35 AM. Reason: Changed question

07-20-2008	#5 (permalink)
baseballboy828 Assistant Store Manager Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,252	I don't shoot or publish video, but my favorite embedded video is Vimeo. It's clean and the quality is better than YouTube. The inline comments/tags are also handy for blog posts and comments. __________________ iMac Intel Core Duo 17" 1.83Ghz, 2GB Crucial RAM ::Twitter : Ben Drucker Photography: Professional Photography Services :: Interested in a free trial Smugmug account?

07-20-2008	#6 (permalink)
Yuiichi Assistant Store Manager Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,021	Oh man, what a discovery. Back when I was using Wordpress, I wanted the same kind of plugin you did Matt. After hours of searching, I found LightBox. It's exactly what I think you want. In that post, you'll see examples of how it works. Also, the post includes simple instructions for using it too! Easy! I'd also like to point out FancyZoom by Cabel Sasser (of Panic fame). It's a chunk of Javascript rather than a plugin, but the zoom animation is top notch. The one thing you might not like is that it doesn't seem to have the ability to have galleries. It'll just zoom in individual images. Oh well! Secondly, my favourite video site is Vimeo as well. Video looks amazing, it has great UI, the design of the site is great as well. Also, the video that I find on Vimeo is usually of higher production value and is more interesting to watch (rather than the many, many webcam rants on YouTube). __________________ My Mac(s): MacBook, white - 2.0 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB HDD Cake for you? The Macversity - Mac + School = Love.

07-20-2008	#7 (permalink)
houltmac Mac Genius Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1,121	That's great! Thanks Yuiichi! It is starting to seem odd. Everyone I speak to says their favourite video site is Vimeo and yet no one actually seems to use it. Member numbers don't seem to compare to other big players. Still, I think I will probably stick with Vimeo when I get a camera. __________________ MacBook Pro 15", 2.53GHz, 4GB RAM, 320B 7200rpm HD \| iPhone 3G 16GB (Black)

07-20-2008	#9 (permalink)
philbowell Mac Genius Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Over the road from the Queen, UK Posts: 952	@Houltmac subscribed last night!! I was going to suggest Lightbox but Yuiichi beat me to it. As for the video part, I prefer to watch and visit Vimeo, YouTube is just ugly. Depending on the type of video you plan to upload and how long you want it to be, Flickr is a possibility. I like the way it handles video, like Vimeo it's quite sophisticated, especially compared to YouTube. __________________ My Mac's: 20" iMac Core Duo with 2gb RAM; 14" iBook G4 My Blog

07-20-2008	#10 (permalink)
J Walk Personal Shopping Specialist Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 310	YouTube is like Microsoft. Vimeo is like Apple. Makes sense now, doesn't it? __________________ MacBook Black 2.2GHz \| 1st Gen iPhone

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