Still Here!

Yes I'm still here. So what's been going on these past Six Years?

Well there has been some updating to PortCommodore.com, I updated the Programs and have added a bit or two but I can see it's time to go through and do some refining.

I guess the biggest project has been doPlaces.com, when I started doPlaces I was unemployed while having well over a decade of experience programming, database and web work, and discovered I really needed something of my own that I could direct people to and say, “this is what I can make.” So came the idea to make a better local community directory. I have been doing directories and event calendars on various platforms for years, so I knew much of that. The challenge was to make a better web-based one that what I had seen before.

Most of the web stuff I had done had been pretty vanilla HTML and some awesome PHP in the back, doPlaces was going to be more public facing, so I finally took the plunge into a better style. I found a lot of CSS, as a programmer who works with logical environments, to be pretty brain damaged. I can now see a lot of it was non-programmers (web designers) hacking together their CSS and making a confusing mess then teaching people how to implement it their way. Some also came from the popularity of old versions of Windows' Internet Explorer which didn't always do things like Firefox, Safari, and Chrome did. Unfortunately a lot of unnecessary styling is still out there, exacerbated by people mixing multiple CSS/JavaScript libraries/templates, and also adding in CSS augmentation tools which makes it much easier to complicate the style-sheet even further. (I can't say doPlaces is perfection, but if you ever look at the CSS in it you should find it refreshing)

That also goes for JavaScript, many designers like the fancy animations but don't realize they can be loading in hundreds of kilobytes of unnecessary/unused code by using libraries like jQuery. All this stuff adds up and down the line it makes it a big mess to unravel if you have changes. So, again I have been frugal in my JavaScript finding the meat of whatever bits I need and only implementing that without the overhead (or external dependency). These external dependencies on libraries and templates will haunt you if you do anything long term.

One of the more interesting challenges has been developing for use on phones ant tablets. Not everything that is possible in HTML translates to a phone or tablet. Web controls have to be left-click mostly, there is no easy drag select, control-click select, etc. Then there is screen size, probably the smallest of mobile web displays is about 320pixels wide (just like the Commodore 64!) then if it goes to the desktop you could be on a screen 2000 pixels wide… how do you make it all keep looking good? Again finding good CSS examples of responsive web design and then adopting a design for mobile-first strategy helps a lot.

Looks good and is responsive is where most web designers/developers say “good enough” and walk away. One big part I see lacking in most sites is making it look good on print too, there is another “media” style that you can create so when you print out a page it can look awesome on the printer too, covered that, you don't get exactly the same page when you print on doPlaces (or here for that matter) you get a page that looks good in print.

Next: reporting, to make something that presents a lot of data more useful you should let the user not have to take out a pen and transcribe the data, this has been addressed on doPlaces with the Picks feature where you can select things you like and then create a printable page (with all the phone numbers/address so you don't have to worry about having connection while on the back roads.) You can also email a friend a specially generated link with your picks so you don't have to copy/paste a bunch of links, just copy the convenient “picks URL” and send that.

Common Locations and Maps - Early on I wanted to get into more location savvy functionality so facilities have been created so events link back to the locations where they happen, you can quickly search “nearby” to find things in the area, and you can see where things are on a map.

Promoting the Community - Businesses can print out signs that will let customers scan a QR code and then they quickly find other local businesses/groups/events nearby. There's also signs to let costumers “vote” for their business as a popular top “pick” on doPlaces.

Another aspect is the design of doPlaces originally it was “doItInCalaveras.com” over the years I have been lucky enough to hone down my registration to just “doPlaces.com,” much easier to type and remember. Making Logos and working up unique promotional texts and materials and doing no-budget marketing strategies. (I had learned you can go broke really quickly trying to market a new business in traditional markets).

There is so much more, I could go on, and probably will later - it's late now.

In the meantime check out https://doPlaces.com

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