Servage Magazine

Ever since I started using a notebook I have had the same annoying problem that everyone else seems to have: How to go about syncing data between multiple computers? During the years I have tried many, too many, solutions. Home-made scripts, synchronization software, backup programs and more, just to have my files the same way across my computers. Today, where data is shared between a lot more devices than earlier (work desktop, home desktop, laptop, mobile phone...) this issue is more apparent than ever before. Some time ago a friend told me about this data-sync-thingy called Dropbox. Hmm, I thought, yet one of those almost-working-solutions. It claims to integrate ...

You have a great project but lack the perfect logo? I've often been in the situation that a cool idea could not be represented in a suitable manner in terms of a logo without having a professional creating one, which unfortunately mostly is expensive. LogoInstant.com may have exactly what we're looking for! They offer ready made, free, easy-to-modify logos for all sorts of things. The quality of the graphics is really high and very professional. You should have a look! Maybe you can find a logo for your (next) project there - or at least get a lot of inspiration.

Have you ever thought about offering your product internationally? Obviously the Internet by nature already makes your product available worldwide, but often that is not enough to really reach the global markets. Many web-services originate from English-speaking areas, or are created in English to accommodate a larger portion of the world's population. However, there are many countries and cultures where people strongly prefer localized versions in their own language. Also considering emerging markets like China, India, Brazil and Russia where English is not as common among average consumers as in western countries it would be an ideal step to localize content. If you already have a web-service that is only available in one language you ...

Information is vulnerable to spies during the transmission of data between your website and your visitors. All data is sent in packages and can potentially be obtained by third parties. This is especially easy in unencrypted or poorly encrypted wireless networks, where anyone basically can see everything, because it is transmitted right through the air. Therefore using encrypted transmissions for sensitive data is risky, which is why every website should use encrypted transmissions for at least login, signup, ordering and payment procedures. How can I encrypt the data? The encryption of data is done with help of a SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate. The SSL certificate fulfills multiple purposes, but mainly it ...

You have a great website or blog, you have cool and interesting articles, you have readers, and you wish to spread the word about your content faster and more efficiently? Sharing and bookmarking your content across a wide range of online services like Digg, Delicious, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter is a great way to promoting it, and thus broadening your reader base. However, it's even more efficient if your readers can do it for you! Free services such as AddThis.com and ShareThis.com offer exactly this functionality for your website or blog. It's easy for you to integrate and it's easy for you to use. You get a button ...

Rich web-applications feature similar functionality and usability as desktop software and are mostly powered by JavaScript or Flash. The whole Web 2.0 concept evolves around such rich, interactive web-based services that provide the user with a smooth experience. Creating rich web-applications can be a big project, but working with the right utilities, you can get started really fast - adding great value to your website. Among many options I would like to present the open source Yahoo User Interface Library (YUI) to you today. YUI basically features a whole lot of ready-to-run scripting libraries, that can add great functionality to your website - really easy and fast. Example 1) Creating cool sortable ...

There are numerous advantages of working with a framework when creating and maintaining projects. Development work can be faster and more efficient when using a framework. It is easier to get things done, and it motivates developers to continue working. Often solutions to common issues are already available within the framework, so you do not have to reinvent the wheel every time you start a new project. What is a framework exactly? Wikipedia defines "a framework is a basic conceptual structure used to solve or address complex issues". Plainspoken, in PHP terms, it means that you get a set of scripts that you build and base your application on. The advantage for you ...